* Politico…
House Democrats, facing strong political headwinds, are shifting millions of dollars of TV advertising away from 2014 challengers in order to prop up some of their most vulnerable incumbents.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is scaling back on planned commercial airtime in 11 Republican-held districts, the group said Monday. Those resources will be used to help four Democratic lawmakers facing treacherous reelection campaigns and two other candidates in districts that Democrats are trying to win from Republicans. […]
As part of the plan, Democrats will cancel planned TV advertising in a group of districts held by Republican lawmakers, all of which are now considered essentially out of reach. They include… the Illinois district of Rep. Rodney Davis […]
In exchange, Democrats will increase financial support for four party incumbents: Illinois Reps. Brad Schneider and Bill Enyart… Each is locked in a tight race against a Republican challenger.
I never understood why Callis allowed herself to be talked into this race, unless maybe she wants to try again in two years with Hillary on the ticket.
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FOP goes with Quinn
Monday, Oct 6, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The FOP endorsed Bill Brady four years ago, so this is worth noting for that reason alone. However, with Bruce Rauner slamming the governor over his 2009 early release program, landing the coppers’ backing can help fend off those attacks…
Governor Pat Quinn today was endorsed by the state’s largest public safety organization, the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, which represents more than 35,000 active duty and retired police officers in Illinois. Today’s major endorsement by the largest public safety organization in Illinois adds to the growing momentum for Governor Quinn’s re-election in 2014.
“Governor Quinn is the strong leader we need to protect the people of Illinois,” said Chris Southwood, President of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge (FOP). “There is only one candidate in this race with a proven record of making the tough decisions to protect public safety. Governor Quinn is on our side fighting every day to keep our communities safe and we are proud to endorse him in this important election.”
“I am extremely honored to have the support of our police officers,” Governor Quinn said. “These hard-working women and men put their lives on the line for us every day. With their support, I will continue to ensure that public safety comes first and that our police have the resources they need to keep our communities safe.”
Throughout his time in office, Governor Quinn has been a champion for public safety, including fighting for and signing historic gun safety legislation that requires the reporting of all lost and stolen guns for the first time in Illinois history. To ensure the safety of our communities and law enforcement, Governor Quinn proposed a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines and is leading the fight for stronger gun-safety legislation.
Governor Quinn fought for laws to support and protect police officers across Illinois including honoring our fallen heroes and ensuring adequate staffing levels, as well as ensuring that law enforcement officers are supplied with the proper equipment to keep them protected. In addition, the Governor has fought to protect critical services crucial to police officers across the state from radical budget cuts sought by Republicans.
Rauner had tried to court the police by saying they’d be exempt from any of his privatized pension reform plans, but it obviously didn’t work.
Discuss.
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* Steve Schnorf has been fretting for some time in comments and in private conversations about how he’ll vote in November, and he’s now written one heck of an analysis of Bruce Rauner’s strengths and weaknesses from a moderate Republican “insider” perspective. The best part is he has addressed his piece to y’all in the hopes of striking up a conversation, so enjoy and participate…
Some of you have seen me post two or three times about wanting to vote for Bruce Rauner, but not being sure why I should, other than that I never vote for Democrats for Governor and President. So I decided to try to do what we were all taught to do at a young age; make a list of pros and cons. I’ve been working on it and here’s what I have so far.
I’m significantly handicapped by the fact that I don’t know him, have never met him or talked on the phone with him, never been in a meeting with him. This will be the first time in a very long time for me that I have to make a decision on voting for Governor about a person I don’t know. Knowing a person fairly well lets you make some reasonable assumptions about such things as overall character, one of the things that has helped me vote for candidates I didn’t always agree with on significant issues.
If you bother to take a look at what I’ve come up with, feel free to point out any errors of fact on my part, add things I’ve neglected to include, and argue my opinions as to what are positives and what are negatives.
* Rauner is open to applying the sales tax to services. Very Positive. The key to keeping tax rates low is a broad tax base. And, we’ve all seen the numbers on the big change in sales in our economy, from almost all “things” to now increasingly, “services” rather than “things.” Also, adding services to the base will relatively reduce the regressivity of our sales tax.
* Rauner’s extensive business experience almost assuredly makes him proficient at negotiating and, when necessary, compromising to reach agreements. Very Positive. That ability should serve him well with the leaders of the General Assembly, interest groups, etc.
* Rauner is endorsed by Jim Edgar. Very Positive. I know there’s a lot of Edgar envy and angst on this site, but if you think about it, he doesn’t waste or tarnish his name with excessive endorsements. If he thinks this person will be a good Governor, that’s important.
* Rauner is not what I call a “culture warrior,” someone who puts pursuing ideological social agendas above governing. Very Positive. To me, at least
.
* Rauner’s comments on funding priorities - K-12, higher ed, more correction officers, early childhood programs, DNR - show good insight into state funding deficiencies. Positive.
————————
* Rauner will “shake up Springfield.” Zero. I have no idea what this means. I doubt that he does.
* Rauner’s claim to have detailed position papers on a wide variety of issues that he doesn’t really have. Negative. Got himself trapped into this early, can’t get out of it, and doesn’t seem to care. The “big lie” approach to campaigning is very off-putting to a lot of people and to the media.
* Rauner believes that the state personal income tax rate should be reduced to 3% over four years. Very Negative. The State will not be able to fund basic services even at the inadequate level we currently fund them. If he knows that he is being disingenuous. If he doesn’t understand it that’s truly astonishing.
* Rauner’s growing credibility gap on increasing funding for various programs and his position on reducing state revenues by cutting taxes. Negative. The growing disconnect between these two positions seems to not concern him at all.
* Rauner’s discomfort publicly with whom and what he is. Negative. He’s wealthy and privileged. Don’t try to deny it, explain to us why it shouldn’t matter.
* Rauner’s stated intent to do battle with public employee unions, their leaders, and to promote right-to-work laws. Negative. This is the one thing about him that I understand the least, both practically and strategically. Practically, he will break his promise because he won’t prevail. Strategically, he had the unions at least neutral in this election because of their huge difficulties with Quinn. He would have won the primary by a larger margin had he just kept quiet because the unions wouldn’t have jumped in with money and GOTV for Dillard. Conclusion: if there’s no making sense of it politically or strategically, he must actually believe it. And that’s a real problem, because pursuing it will polarize and will suck up energy and time that needs to be devoted to governing.
He wouldn’t tell me how he plans to vote.
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* The whole idea behind the GOP effort to investigate Gov. Pat Quinn’s 2010 anti-violence program was because it somehow helped Quinn win the 2010 campaign, even though no money was handed out until after the campaign was over.
So, while this could be an important development, keep in mind that the contract was handed out sometime during Fiscal Year 2013…
A church closely connected to former top gubernatorial aide Billy Ocasio was awarded a contract for up to $100,000 from Gov. Pat Quinn’s embattled Neighborhood Recovery Initiative — even though Mr. Ocasio had helped supervise NRI grant-making as Mr. Quinn’s senior adviser.
New Life Covenant Church, where Mr. Ocasio’s wife, Veronica Ocasio, works as chief of staff, received the contract and ultimately was paid just under $43,000 for developing a youth employment program, according to records compiled by the Illinois Auditor General’s office and information obtained from state records by Crain’s. […]
“I don’t think it was just a coincidence,” says state Rep. Ron Sandack, R-Downers Grove, who serves on the commission and may be able to question Mr. Ocasio, who has been subpoenaed to appear at Wednesday’s session. “What’s available now doesn’t tell enough to reach a firm conclusion, but it would be incredibly naïve to conclude that (Mr. Ocasio’s) influence had no impact on who got the money.” […]
Mr. Ocasio left the governor’s office in May of 2011, assuming a new post at the Illinois Housing Development Authority. While still in the office, he had strongly lobbied in emails for NRI funds for Hispanic groups and arranged a meeting with Mr. Quinn to which New Life had been invited. For instance, in a Sept. 23 [2010] email, to Barbara Shaw, then ICJIA head. Referring to the Neighborhood Recovery program, he wrote, “Barbara, can you please get us a list of the lead agencies for NRP…I want to make sure that the Latino communities are taken care of [and provide meaningful suggestions based on your outline].” […]
In 2009, when Mr. Ocasio resigned as a Chicago alderman to go to work for Mr. Quinn, he pushed for New Life’s pastor, Rev. Wilfredo DeJesus, to be appointed to succeed him and, later, put forward his wife as his replacement. Then-Mayor Richard M. Daley instead chose someone else. In 2011, when Mr. De Jesus briefly ran for mayor, Veronica Ocasio was chairman of his campaign committee.
Expect this to come up during the hearing this week. But, again, we’re talking about a grant that took place two years (at least) after the election. Ocasio showed up to testify during a summer LAC hearing, but was never called. We’ll see what happens this time around.
* Meanwhile, from the Tribune’s front page story today…
Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn spent nearly $5 million on special job training grants as part of a sweeping anti-violence program he quickly launched during his 2010 campaign, but about a third of the community groups that received money had to give some of it back.
A Humboldt Park group returned nearly $115,000 earmarked for computer training, a Near West Side group owes nearly $50,000 designated for teaching ex-offenders culinary and maintenance skills, and another group refunded more than $20,000 set aside to prepare Chicago’s disabled population for food service and hospitality jobs.
In all, eight of 25 community groups getting Quinn’s Training for Tomorrow grants fell short of the program’s goals and have returned money or plan to reimburse the state about $220,000. Most of the repayments came in after the Tribune inquired about the grants in early August.
You have to read down to the 12th paragraph to learn that the grant recipients weren’t named until Thanksgiving, which was a few weeks after the election. A few grafs later it’s explained that grant money wasn’t distributed until well into 2011. Also, many of the problems were discovered by audits done by UIUC. And the program overall performed up to expectations…
Some groups had better success than others, and the program ended up with 1,650 people enrolled, more than the 1,462 the state anticipated. The number of people who finished the program, got work and met the benchmark of holding a job for at least 90 days was 798 — only one less than projected, according to state officials.
…Adding… With a hat tip to Wordslinger, Kass’ latest…
Quinn’s administration is under federal investigation for spending $55 million of public money on a gang violence reduction program before his last election.
They must’ve laid off more editors over there.
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* Gov. Quinn has been campaigning with Martin Sheen for a couple of days. Sun-Times…
The dazzle of celebrity prompted grins — and a few eye rolls — from grim-faced Loop commuters Monday morning, as a campaigning Gov. Pat Quinn showed up with his actor pal Martin Sheen.
Quinn and Sheen shook hands and posed for photographs with commuters streaming out of Millennium Station downtown.
Asked whether a Hollywood actor would help or hurt Quinn, who is in a close race with Republican hopeful Bruce Rauner, Sheen said: “You can’t confuse celebrity with credibility. But it’s not like I showed up yesterday. I’ve been involved with social justice and with the Democrats most of my adult life.”
* But that’s not all he’s been involved with. The Illinois Republican Party has twice tried to interest the media in a rather bizarre Sheen story without any luck. Here’s today’s version…
Pat Quinn continues campaigning alongside actor Martin Sheen today, but he has yet to answer for Sheen’s radical views on a range of issues, including whether the September 11th attacks were actually a U.S. government conspiracy.
That’s right, our governor is proudly campaigning with a 9/11 “truther” who questions whether our government – not Al Qaeda – murdered 3,000 Americans.
Sounds too crazy to be true, right? Check out the YouTube evidence:
On October 27, 2007, Martin Sheen suggested the U.S. government had a hand in pre-rigging Building 7 to come down on 9/11 (Watch the Video): “I did not want to believe that my government could possibly be involved in such a thing…then however there’s been so many revelations that now I have my doubts. And chief among them is building seven. How did they rig that building so that it came down on the evening of the day?…How convenient. When did they rig that building? That’s the most curious question and I have not received an answer.”
Later, Sheen supported his son Charlie’s 9/11 truther statements (Watch the Video): “…I think all of us should be inquisitive about that. We should know what really happened. I don’t know, but there are some very troubling, unanswered questions and I think that’s all [my son] Charlie’s trying to explore. So I support that.”
Governor Quinn must address these offensive radical views today. Does Pat Quinn agree with Martin Sheen that there are unanswered questions about the 9/11 attacks? Will he denounce Martin Sheen’s radical and offensive views? If not, why is he continuing to campaign alongside someone who holds them?
* So, I asked the Quinn campaign for comment. The response…
Rather than attacking those who advocate for the working poor, billionaire Bruce Rauner should explain his own backward and offensive view that he expressed just this year of wanting to eliminate the minimum wage.
I’m pretty sure that if Bruce Rauner campaigned with a “birther,” the Quinnsters would try to make something out of that, so this appears to be a fair enough hit that probably deserves more attention.
…Adding… From a commenter…
Quinnsters-as long you don’t shake hands with a guy in a jacket with a Confederate flag it’s OK, right? Maybe that guy was an advocate for the working poor too since that makes it better. Fair hit on Quinn by Rauner.
Yep. I’d somehow forgotten about that one. Click here if you did as well.
…Adding More… The IL GOP responds to the Quinn campaign’s non-response…
Rather than rejecting Sheen’s 9/11 views, Quinn’s campaign refused to comment and instead claimed the ILGOP’s questioning of the matter was “attacking those who advocate for the working poor.” Gov. Quinn is responsible for the people he chooses to campaign with, whether he likes it or not.
The ILGOP is stunned and outraged by Pat Quinn’s refusal to condemn Sheen’s 9/11 conspiracy theories. The people of Illinois deserve better than this.
…Adding Even More… From the RGA…
Who does Illinois Dem Gov. Pat Quinn think makes a great campaign partner? A 9/11 truther who has suggested multiple times that the U.S. government may have secretly had a hand in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. If that wasn’t bad enough, news comes today that the Quinn campaign refuses to comment about his campaign surrogate’s 9/11 truther background and if Governor Quinn agrees with his statements. These moves by the Quinn campaign are outrageous, offensive and another major example of Quinn’s out-of-touch behavior.
…And More… Via the IL GOP…
Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-Channahon) today issued the following statement in response to Gov. Pat Quinn’s refusal to condemn 9/11 conspiracy theories:
“I joined the Air National Guard because of September 11th. Many have sacrificed their lives in defense of freedom since that horrible day. I am deeply concerned by Gov. Quinn’s refusal to condemn those who would suggest the United States Government perpetrated these attacks that murdered more than 3,000 Americans. He owes us an explanation - now.”
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Today’s quotable
Monday, Oct 6, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Kurt Erickson…
Republican candidate for governor Bruce Rauner said some words to remember last week during a stop in Bloomington.
Trying to portray himself as a man who will be a hands-on governor, the political newcomer said this: “Every day that the General Assembly is in session, I want to be with the General Assembly. I want to be with the General Assembly on the floor. I want to be in the committee meetings. I want to be in the hearings.”
If he’s elected, the first time Rauner is in Chicago or somewhere else when the Legislature is in session, you know those words will be used against him.
He also had these words of warning to members of the House and Senate: “I’m going to be twisting arms. I’m going to be selling. I might have to break a couple of arms.”
Now that would be hands on.
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* From the Quinn campaign…
On the eve of her visit Tuesday afternoon to the UIC Pavilion, First Lady Michelle Obama is featured in a new TV ad praising Governor Pat Quinn’s “courage to do what’s right” in fighting to raise the minimum wage, create Illinois jobs and protect critical services for veterans instead of giving tax breaks to the wealthy.
“So for this election, Barack and I are casting our votes for our friend Pat Quinn,” the First Lady concludes in the 30-second ad that began airing today.
The First Lady has long supported Governor Quinn and worked closely with him on initiatives to help Illinois veterans find work.
* The ad…
* Script…
“This is Michelle Obama and I know Pat Quinn.
“I’ve seen that Pat has the courage to do what’s right.
“Now, Pat’s fighting to raise the minimum wage.
“He’s working to create jobs here at home - instead of shipping jobs overseas.
“And he’ll never cut funding for military families or veterans to give a tax break to the wealthy.
“So for this election, Barack and I are casting our votes for our friend Pat Quinn.”
It’s OK, but nothing spectacular.
* The Quinnsters have another new TV ad running and Ormsby is not impressed at all…
A new TV ad released today by Governor Pat Quinn’s campaign hits GOP challenger Bruce Rauner‘s “reckless plan to slash school funding.” […]
The ad is ho, hum. The punch against Rauner’s education plan is feeble.
And the footage is partially a rehash of the same footage also being used in the new TV ad by Michelle Obama endorsing Quinn.
The producers of both ads invested little imagination in either.
Quinn’s education ad gets a “C”.
* The ad…
* Script…
Two candidates. Two visions for Illinois. Billionaire Bruce Rauner’s plan would cut his own taxes by more than a million dollars a year while slashing funds for Illinois schools – and laying off 1 out of every 6 teachers.
“Pat Quinn. He’ll protect schools and teachers from devastating budget cuts. And he’ll never cut school funding to give a tax break to the wealthy. That’s the choice.
Pat Quinn. Governor.
* Meanwhile, the Rauner campaign has a new online ad…
This Wednesday and Thursday the Illinois Legislative Audit Commission will take live testimony from former top aides to Gov. Pat Quinn regarding their roles in an ongoing federal corruption investigation by two separate U.S. Attorneys. The hearings will serve a number of important roles. Most importantly, taxpayers may finally learn how millions of tax dollars found their way into the hands of the politically-connected while bypassing some of Chicago’s most violent neighborhoods. Additionally, citizens will be reminded that the public image Pat Quinn has cultivated over the last three decades does not mirror his actions while in office. In addition to using the NRI program as a $55 million political slush fund, we learned just this summer that after taking over for Rod Blagojevich, Quinn actually doubled the number of illegal political hires at IDOT.
Simply put, voters will be reminded that Pat Quinn isn’t the reformer he claims to be. In fact, he’s exactly the opposite - a career politician who will do anything to retain power:
* The online promo…
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* You know the drill. Here’s the press release…
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is launching a new television ad in Illinois’ 17th Congressional District, highlighting how former Congressman Bobby Schilling voted to protect tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. The ad comes just over two years after Bobby Schilling turned his back on the 170 Sensata workers who had their jobs outsourced. The ad starts running today.
* The TV ad…
* The script…
[Narrator] Thousands of Illinois jobs…gone.
(News Audio) “the plant is shutting down”
(News Audio) “170 jobs to China”
[Narrator] While in Congress, Bobby Schilling voted to protect tax breaks for corporations that send jobs overseas and let them keep their government contracts.
(News Audio) “losing these jobs would devastate this community”
[Narrator] The policies Schilling supports devastated Illinois. We can’t afford any more politicians like Bobby Schilling.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising.
* Meanwhile, Roll Call blogged about some potential problems for the Schilling campaign because it appeared to violate some technical advertising requirements…
On Sept. 16, former Rep. Bobby Schilling, R-Ill., aired a 30-second ad titled, “How Could You?” that accused Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos of cutting benefits for military veterans. Democrats promptly sent a letter to television stations in Illinois’ 17th District, taking issue with the disclaimer on Schilling’s ad and arguing the Republican forfeited his right to the lowest unit charge for the remainder of the race. […]
“The bottom line is that, at the time of the complaint, the ad was going off the air anyway,” said Rex Elsass, whose firm, The Strategy Group for Media, produced the spot. In the middle of last week, the Schilling campaign “switched traffic,” the campaign term for changing ads, and the disclaimer on the new ad, “Spin,” was slightly different. The written disclaimer at the end is accompanied by a “postage stamp” photo of the candidate.
So what’s the big deal? This particular disclaimer issue has the potential for serious financial consequences for Schilling because it occurred within the 60-day window before the election.
“[B]obby Schilling has forfeited his entitlement to the lowest unit charge for the duration of the campaign,” attorney Mike Halpin wrote in a Sept. 17 letter to station managers on behalf of the Bustos campaign. “From now through the day of the general election, your station must charge Bobby Schilling and Bobby Schilling for Congress the same rate for broadcast time that it charges non-political advertisers for comparable use.”
The local paper put the story on its front page today…
* If Schilling is forced to pay the higher amount, that could hurt him even more because he’s being outraised by Bustos…
Today, Cheri Bustos for Congress announced it raised $683,000 in the third fundraising quarter of 2014, a new record for Illinois’ 17th Congressional District. The campaign has raised just under $2.7 million during this election cycle, another record for Illinois’ 17th Congressional District, and enters the final month of the campaign with $987,000 cash-on-hand.
“Our campaign is humbled to have the strong support of so many across our region who know that Cheri Bustos is the candidate with the right priorities for Illinois,” said Bustos’ Campaign Manager Jeremy Jansen. “Cheri is running to continue her fight to bring middle class values and common sense back to Washington. That means putting job-creation and our economy first, reducing the deficit in a balanced way, while protecting Medicare and Social Security, and standing up for America’s veterans.”
This record-breaking quarter follows Cheri out-raising ex-Congressman Bobby Schilling every fundraising quarter of this election cycle.
…Adding… From the Schilling campaign…
“Congresswoman Bustos is a trade denier, and that’s a problem in a trade-dependent district like Illinois 17. Her thinking is completely backwards, it’s anti-worker, and it shows that Congresswoman Bustos doesn’t fully understand how the 21st century American economy works.
“It’s time for some evidence from Congresswoman Bustos to back up these silly claims based on flawed logic and misinformation. Trade creates jobs. It benefits the American worker. It’s absolutely vital to our district’s economy.
“If Congresswoman Bustos had it her way, there would be no trade with foreign nations. She would tell our manufacturers to close up and go home. Our farmers would be done—it would end American agriculture as we know it. We would stop putting our crops, our products, and our innovative ideas on the global market.
“Millions of jobs exist in this country solely because of trade. If Congresswoman Bustos had it her way, we would lose all of them. Our economy would come to a screeching halt, and the middle class would be caught in the crossfire.
“Congresswoman Bustos has no right to talk about shipping jobs overseas. Her policies are directly responsible for us losing American jobs to China. She supports the bring-back tax, which is preventing more than $2 trillion sitting overseas from being re-shored back to the United States. She supports keeping the highest corporate tax rate in the world. She supports further penalizing small businesses and preventing them from expanding into global markets.
“And what has Congresswoman Bustos done for our economy in this district? We’re losing Robertshaw in Hanover. We’re losing All Feed in Woodhull. We’re losing MetLife in Freeport. Where was Congresswoman Bustos?
“Maybe while she was spending millions on air talking about imaginary ‘tax breaks for corporations that ship jobs overseas,’ she should have been doing her job and fighting to protect our jobs. Now, for far too many workers in Hanover, Woodhull, and Freeport, it’s too late.”
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Daily Herald endorses Rauner
Monday, Oct 6, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the DH…
Is Rauner the perfect candidate? Who could be? To be sure, we are more than a little troubled by the vagueness of his economic proposals, the outright naiveté if not political opportunism of his call for a property tax freeze, the sometimes simplistic framework in which he contains Illinois’ complex problems.
But we are clear on his ultimate objective for the state — an objective, frankly, that we believe Gov. Quinn and most Illinoisans share. The question is which of the two men can change the course of Illinois history, and that dramatically.
Whatever small steps he has taken, Gov. Pat Quinn has had six years in which to put the state back on course, but ultimately has shown he is not the leader we need.
Bruce Rauner is. He gets our endorsement to be the next governor of Illinois
* The Daily Herald also endorsed Tom Cross…
We believe Republican Tom Cross, 56, of Oswego is the stronger candidate, and he earns our endorsement. Cross is the former minority leader in the House and has the breadth of experience we think is important for statewide office. As we said when endorsing him in the GOP primary, we like his aggressive attitude toward making the office more vocal and involved when it comes to the state’s troubled finances. Cross has vowed to hold the legislature and governor accountable in court if they do not pass a balanced budget as the state Constitution mandates. Having another statewide officer demanding accountability is a welcome approach to an office that also manages the state’s investments and financial programs like the Bright Start college savings program.
State Sen. Mike Frerichs, a 41-year-old Democrat from Champaign, touts his experience as a county auditor and says the treasurer should not take on duties that are not assigned to the office. Both candidates say they will provide more transparency and greater efficiencies if elected. However, Cross in our view is more committed to merging the comptroller and treasurer’s offices, an idea we strongly support.
* And Topinka…
In her first term, the 70-year-old Riverside Republican created an online ledger to allow for more transparency of state finances while also trimming the budget and head count in the office, which oversees check writing for the state. She understands state finances and the workings of the state legislature, which gives her some leverage as she tries to push legislation and a constitutional amendment to combine the comptroller’s and treasurer’s offices. “I can be a horrendous nag,” she said. We like her passion about her role and on the issue of combining the offices. She has earned a second term.
Her opponent, Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon, a Carbondale Democrat, says she will work to combine resources of the two offices and find more efficiencies. She also said she wants to provide even more transparency for taxpayers, especially on the timing of when state bills are paid. Simon, 53, is an earnest candidate, but she fails to make a strong case as to why the better-known and much more experienced Topinka should be removed.
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* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
OK, so what we’re gonna do today is discuss some congressional races that you may or may not care about in order to talk about the governor’s race, which you probably do care about since you’re reading this column.
First up, let’s look at freshman Democratic Congressman Brad Schneider, who is leading former one-term Republican Congressman Bob Dold by two points, 46-44 with 9 percent undecided. according to a Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll taken Sept. 30th.
Millions have already been spent in that north suburban district, and Schneider barely beat Dold last time in a big Democratic year, so it’s little surprise that this race is so tight. The poll of 919 likely voters has a margin of error of +/-3.2 percent and 23 percent were mobile phone contacts.
Gov. Pat Quinn is getting slaughtered in the district by Bruce Rauner 51-39, with another 5 percent going for Libertarian Chad Grimm and 5 percent undecided. That can’t be helping Schneider. There are a ton of anti-gun, pro-choice women in that district, and yet Quinn is losing to Rauner among females 45-42.
Moving right along, every poll was way off in the 11th Congressional District two years ago. So, keep that in mind when I tell you that the latest Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll has Democratic Congressman Bill Foster ahead of Republican state Rep. Darlene Senger by only three points, 47-44, with another 10 percent undecided. The poll of 918 likely voters was taken Sept. 30th and had a margin of error of +/-3.2 percent, with 24 percent mobile phone contacts.
The race in the sprawling southwest suburban district has so far attracted little outside attention. A recent Senger poll showed her trailing by 5 and the campaign decided to keep it secret in order to sneak up on Foster. Oops.
Rauner is leading Quinn in the district 48-39, with another 6 percent going to the Libertarian..
Another Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll showed state Rep. Mike Bost leading Democratic freshman Congressman Bill Enyart by five points, 45-40, with six points going to Green Party candidate Paula Bradshaw in this southern Illinois district.
Despite Democratic efforts to paint Bost as a scary, screaming extremist, the Republican is leading Enyart 41-40 among women. The poll of 909 likely voters was taken Oct. 1st and has a margin of error of +/-3.3 percent. 22 percent of the contacts were cell phone users.
Rauner is way ahead of Gov. Quinn in that district 47-35, with 9 percent going to the Libertarian candidate.
The biggest bright spot for the congressional Democrats came from a Sept. 29th Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll which showed Democratic Congresswoman Cheri Bustos leading former GOP Congressman Bobby Schilling by nine points, 50-41. The poll of 953 likely voters had a margin of error of +/-3.2 percent.
National Republicans have been saying for months that Gov. Quinn would bring down Democratic incumbents, and Quinn is trailing Rauner in this northwestern Illinois district 42-38, with 9 percent going to the Libertarian. But, obviously, Quinn isn’t yet hurting Bustos.
Like elsewhere, Quinn has a big problem with women in the district. Bustos is winning among women 51-39, but they split 39-39 in the governor’s race.
And, finally, Republican Congressman Rodney Davis appears to be coasting to reelection, according to a Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll. Davis has a very big 51-38 lead over Democrat Ann Callis, with 11 percent undecided. The poll of 932 likely voters was taken Oct. 1st and has a margin of error of +/-3.2 percent.
Even so, Callis is still getting more support than Gov. Quinn in a district that stretches from Champaign to the Metro East. Rauner leads 43-35, with 11 percent for the Libertarian.
OK, now to the point I’m trying to make.
If you look back at 2012, it was very difficult to find a hotly contested congressional race where President Obama was trailing in the polls. He won all the districts listed above.
Again, these are swing districts. Neither party has a huge advantage over the other party. You’d expect Quinn to at least be competitive, but he’s getting blown out everywhere except the Bustos district, where he’s still trailing.
Obama won Illinois by 17 points, so Quinn doesn’t have to be all that close in those congressional districts to prevail. But his appalling numbers are a clear sign of his unpopularity everywhere but Chicago. Despite recent polls showing Rauner and Quinn essentially tied, I think the governor is still a long way away from closing this deal.
Subscribers have more background info on all the races plus crosstabs for each poll.
Discuss.
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Keep calm and carry on
Monday, Oct 6, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The DCCC has been posting some tracker videos of Rep. Mike Bost on YouTube. Obviously, any thuggish behavior caught on tape by the infamously argumentative Bost or his campaign staff or supporters would be video gold.
To his and his campaign’s credit, Bost appears to understand the consequences of any slight misbehavior. If you watch the two raw videos from Belleville’s annual chili cook-off, you’ll see Bost and his crew doing their best to just act natural and not worry about what the tracker is doing.
Smart move.
* Indeed, in this brief excerpt from Part 2, you can hear a new out-of-state Bost worker named Chris pleasantly introducing himself to a fairly new out-of-state DCCC tracker named Megan. The two chit-chat about where they’re from, cheese steaks, etc...
Also, in all the videos I watched over the weekend, the Dem tracker doesn’t go out of her way to provoke Bost, which is better behavior than others we’ve seen.
Considering the stakes here, it’s encouraging that both sides are maintaining a level of professionalism and courtesy. At least, for now.
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When a “cut” is actually an increase
Monday, Oct 6, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Here’s my latest Crain’s Chicago Business column, which begins…
The most easily disprovable falsehood of this year’s gubernatorial campaign also is one that the mainstream media has not bothered to correct, possibly because the purveyors of the tall tale push back so hard when somebody tries to write the facts.
The Associated Press in April uncritically reported a statement by Republican nominee Bruce Rauner, who “criticized Quinn for cutting funding to schools by some $600 million—cuts that led to teacher layoffs and larger class sizes.”
Mr. Rauner then footnoted that AP story in a July television ad: “Quinn cut $500 million, causing teacher layoffs and crowded classrooms”
Wait. Now it’s just $500 million?
And ends…
Instead of a big cut, state education funding actually has risen roughly $440 million, to about $6.81 billion in 2015, from nearly $6.37 billion in 2010. Nothing to cheer about but not horrible when you consider that teacher pension spending has increased by about $2 billion during the same period.
“You’re just wrong on this,” I emailed Mr. Rauner’s spokesman.
“It is true and we will keep correcting you,” he wrote back.
At that point, I rose from my computer and banged my head against the wall.
Go read the whole thing before commenting, please. You’ll see how I came to my conclusion and some of the silliness I had to endure before I wound up banging my head against the wall… and banging out that column.
* And speaking of suffering through endless attempts at “working the ref,” here’s Kurt Erickson…
The campaign for governor has been the most frantic I’ve ever covered. Both sides are loaded with staffers who are super-committed to getting their man elected.
Press aides from both sides are constantly badgering reporters about potential negative stories that later could be — and oftentimes are — transformed into hard-hitting television ads.
As an example of the hyper-attention being paid to the race by the campaign staffers, I recently wrote a story about a plan to auction off half of the state’s fleet of airplanes.
Once the story was up on the newspaper’s website, I tweeted the link to my Twitter account, @Illinois_Stage.
Within a mere three minutes of the tweet I received a text message from a Rauner operative complaining that I didn’t mention in the story that Rauner had proposed the sale before Quinn did.
* That’s pretty standard stuff, but as Kurt says it’s relentless this year.
Both campaigns have sophisticated war rooms where operatives monitor everything - news stories, tweets, even sometimes comments - in real time. Responses are lightening fast. Sometimes they’re pleasant, sometimes they’re overtly hostile, sometimes they’re drenched with sarcasm.
Because I have a different sort of publication, I can - and do - quickly accommodate any legit criticisms with an update. I have zero problem with that. If something is incomplete, inaccurate or whatever, it deserves an update. I don’t mind doing that at all.
Sometimes, the campaigns’ responses aren’t so legit, but I often post those as well, which are then usually followed up by stinging rebukes from myself, and/or commenters and/or from the other side, ad infinitum.
The public and private back and forth has all been unendingly fascinating to me, and quite entertaining.
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Good morning, everybody!
Monday, Oct 6, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a 2011 tribute to the late, beyond great “Stu” Stewart featuring long-retired bassist Bill Wyman, here’s the Rolling Stones covering Bob Dylan’s “Watching the River Flow”…
People disagreeing on almost everything,
Makes you stop and wonder why.
Why only yesterday I saw someone on the street
Who couldn’t just help but cry.
Oh, this ol’ river keeps on rollin’, though,
No matter what gets in the way and which way the wind blows,
And as long as it does I’ll just sit here
And watch the river flow.
That’s pretty much how I describe my chosen career.
* Also, now that they’re all 70 or so, I really wish the Stones would play more outstanding tunes like this one. Get back to the roots, guys. Be necessary again to our understanding of what music is, what it has been, what it will always be. And, while you’re at it, go out with some counter-culture dignity.
And I say this as someone who’s been a Rolling Stones fanatic since before I could talk. I so badly want them to be relevant again because I am convinced down to my marrow that they still have it in them if only they’d rise above their jaded, faded, tiresomely self-referential “Star Star” schtick. Just listen to today’s song for proof.
In other words, get the heck off Les Champs-Elysees and get back to 2120 South Michigan Avenue.
/rant
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Reader comments closed for the weekend
Friday, Oct 3, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I heard on the radio last night that Jerry Lee Lewis has a new album coming out and a tour is planned. Wow. The sole survivor. He’s in Nashville this weekend. Anybody up for a road trip?
Here’s “The Killer” doing “Deep Elem Blues.” If this don’t get you going, ain’t nothing will…
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* From the Democratic Governors Association…
With new revelations about his direct links to public corruption, Republican Bruce Rauner gave himself another $1.5 million, bringing his total to more than $14 million.
Below is the statement of Democratic Governors Association Illinois spokesperson Rikeesha Phelon in response:
“If it’s Friday, it must mean that Republican Bruce Rauner is pumping more money into his increasingly-desperate campaign.
“It seems that every time there’s bad news for his campaign-this time his direct ties to a colossal bribery scandal-he opens up his wallet to himself.
“No amount of money can buy Bruce Rauner an unblemished record when it comes to his direct ties to public corruption, deadly negligence and outright fraud.”
There’s been a distinct change of tone out of Gov. Quinn’s campaign and allied organizations this week. No longer content to call him a billionaire, now he’s directly tied to “public corruption, deadly negligence and outright fraud.”
Brace yourselves, campers. It’s gonna get worse.
*** UPDATE *** The RGA kicked in another $1.1 million. You gotta wonder what other Republican gubernatorial candidates around the country are thinking about the RGA dumping so many millions into the campaign of a gazillionaire, but whatevs.
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Behind the uproar
Friday, Oct 3, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* A couple of e-mails from the Illinois Collaboration on Youth’s CEO to her provider members do seem to undermine Gov. Pat Quinn’s claim that no youth services providers were cut when $5 million was spent on summer youth/jobs programs in the Chicago area. When reading this, it’s helpful to know that “CCBYS” means “Comprehensive Community Based Youth Services”…
From: Andrea Durbin
Date: Thursday, July 31, 2014 at 1:52 PM
Subject: Urgent — Your Immediate Action Needed — CCBYS funding at risk!!!
Dear CCBYS Provider,
I am so furious.
I have learned that there is an effort to take the CCBYS funding increase that you all fought so hard for — to restore our budget cuts dating back to 2009 — and transfer those funds to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.
I need you to call your legislators immediately — today — and express your objections! These funds were intended to be used to 1. Invest in the CCBYS infrastructure which has been subjected to 48% budget cuts since 2009 and 2. Increase community-based efforts to divert youth from the juvenile justice system all across the state!
This is why you have not heard from DHS about the FY15 contract amounts.
The Illinois Administrative Code requires that at least 80% of the funding go to CCBYS providers: http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/089/089003340000140R.html
Please call today and let me know what you heard back. We are not letting this drop.
* And the plot thickened when the Illinois Collaboration on Youth (ICOY) sent out this August 1st e-mail entitled “FY15 CCBYS & Teen REACH Funding Increases Diverted”…
ICOY has learned that, due to a misunderstanding between the Office of the Comptroller and the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority about the use of FY14 dollars to pay for the Community Violence Prevention Program (**more details below), the Governor’s Office is attempting to divert the FY15 funding increase from CCBYS to ICJIA, to cover these CVPP expenses. According to Jerry Stermer, Director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, this is a “temporary” strategy for which the Governor’s Office will seek a supplemental to restore the diverted funding. We have shared this information with Representative Greg Harris, Chair of the House Human Services Appropriations Committee, and he has pledged to discuss this with Stermer.
We have very serious concerns about this approach, and are meeting with Stermer and Secretary Saddler next week to continue the dialogue. Our points remain:
- The General Assembly appropriated this money to CCBYS. It is intended as a reinvestment in the 24/7 infrastructure that has been devastated by nearly 50% budget cuts since 2009.
- The Illinois Administrative Code requires that at least 80% of the funding be directed to the CCBYS providers.
- CCBYS is a highly accountable program that involves a rigorous competitive RFP process, a logic model, program outcome measures, participation in e-Cornerstone, and other strategies that ensure that we are good stewards of taxpayer dollars. We have excellent outcomes and are key providers in the efforts to keep youth out of the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Indeed — today’s Chicago Tribune has a front-page story about the need for more efforts to address truancy — just the kind of work that CCBYS is designed to do.
- The likelihood of a supplemental for CCBYS or any other program is slim in this current political and fiscal environment.
In addition, we have learned that the FY15 funding increase of $5 million for Teen REACH has also been diverted, to summer jobs. We also asked Stermer about this and he is looking into the details; Harris is also alerted to this issue and is following up as well.
PLEASE CONTINUE YOUR ADVOCACY. Let us know what you are hearing from your legislators.
**According to Stermer and to a Board Member at ICJIA with whom ICOY spoke, for the past couple of fiscal years, the Office of the Comptroller has permitted ICJIA to use money from the previous fiscal year to fund summer programs that span two fiscal years. Apparently, 2 weeks ago, the Comptroller has rescinded that practice without warning and is declining to pay for these services for July and August with FY14 dollars, thus forcing a fiscal crisis at ICJIA. In your advocacy efforts, you may want to reach out to the Comptroller as well. You can also reach her office at 217-782-XXXX
* So, two things: 1) Groups didn’t get a planned increase and may not ever get that money, despite the GA’s appropriation; and 2) This didn’t appear to be an evil plan to divert money for political purposes, but was instead robbing Peter to pay Paul for programs already in existence which needed to be covered. Then again, what you have here are some providers (including Downstate providers) not getting an increase so that cash could be diverted to Chicago.
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Question of the day
Friday, Oct 3, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Eric Zorn discusses an e-mail from a reader who got Bruce Rauner’s name wrong…
“Regardless of what we do or don’t know about Vince Rauner, the fact that he’s not Pat Quinn — or Michael Madigan or John Cullerton, for that matter — does indeed count for quite a bit, at least in my opinion. If the definition of insanity is to continue to do the same thing repeatedly and expect a different result, I can’t understand why anyone would vote to continue on with any Democrat in the state of Illinois.”
* And after some discussion of Bruce Rauner’s very real problems, Zorn writes this…
Bruce Rauner, the big-talking, politically inexperienced rich guy who thinks government can be run like a business, is an easy target for Quinn.
But “Vince Rauner,” the ill-defined vessel for the hopes of frustrated, impatient Illinois residents, is a much more difficult foe.
After nearly 12 years of Democratic control of both the General Assembly and the governor’s office, lagging jobs numbers, rising taxes, falling bond ratings and a growing pension debt have close to two-thirds of respondents to several recent polls saying the state is on the wrong track.
Those are potential Vince voters — citizens who are simply ready to try something new, no matter how hard Quinn pleads for patience or how many statistics he produces that show positive trends.
That is spot on. It’s the tabula rasa effect, when the challenger becomes a blank slate that voters fill in with whatever they really want.
* The whole idea behind Gov. Quinn’s attacks is to write “BAD MAN” over and over and over as many times as possible on that blank slate in order to prompt this reaction…
Which leads us to…
* The Question: In your opinion, who will win the governor’s race? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
survey hosting
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Get over yourselves
Friday, Oct 3, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* When conservative Republicans refer to moderate Republicans as “RINOs,” it shows how small-minded they really are. Politics is a game of addition, not subtraction. Only people who don’t mind losing want to keep their party “pure.”
Why do the House Democrats perform so well in the suburbs and in many Downstate areas? One reason is they recruit former Republicans to run. Just to cite one example, the woman who beat the allegedly “unbeatable” state Rep. Skip Saviano was a former Republican. The list is long, and it’s not just the House. DuPage County’s only Democratic Senator is a former Republican.
The Democrats in this state welcome former Republicans with open arms. The ultra-conservative Republican “activists” too often want to throw moderates out of their party and keep former Democrats away at all costs.
* So instead of celebrating this young man’s hard work for the House Republican Organization, we get this headline…
Illinois House Republican campaigns run by former Clinton campaign staffer
OMG!!! Call the purity police! Also, if you look at the hyperlink’s text, you’ll see the original headline: “HRO Head Joe Woodward’s Democrat Connections Raise Eyebrows.” At least they toned it down.
* But Woodward still has to endure some guilt by association crud…
HRO’s day-to-day political operations are run by Joe Woodhouse (photo right), who has a resume that includes work for Hillary Clinton, and a left-wing environmental group. […]
The email address Woodward used is linked to his job as Director of Operations for his father, Michael J. Woodward’s, law firm in Berwyn Illinois.
Starting in 1999, Woodward’s father began donating to the Democratic Citizens of Berwyn and the Berwyn Regular Democratic Organization. Prior to that, he donated to Republicans such as Jim Ryan and former Governor George Ryan.
Horrors!!! Could he be some sort of Democratic plant? A Communist “Manchurian Staffer” who is about to take a purposeful dive for the Evil Democrat Machine in order to clear a path for THAT WOMAN???
Please.
He did a little low-pay grunt work for Hillary seven years ago to get some experience. He worked for his dad, who happens to be a Democrat and who is currently very ill. Yet, for some reason, conservatives have to treat anybody formerly connected in any way with the Democratic Party as if they were ISIL members.
* At least they did include this information…
Woodward explained to Illinois Review that he’s worked for HRO in the 2010, 2012 and 2014 campaign cycles. Illinois State Board of Elections’ records show Woodward has been paid $4,000 a month by HRO in the 2014 campaign. He’s also been paid by State Rep. Jim Durkin, the Northfield Township GOP, and Elizabeth Coulson’s PACs in the past few years.
“I also worked as a Communications Analyst in the [former House Republican Leader] Tom Cross’ administration from Jan 2011-Sept 2013,” Woodward told IR.
Woodward told IR that while working for Tom Cross’ administration, he “wrote policy communications for GOP State Reps David McSweeney, Chris Nybo, David Harris, Dennis Reboletti, Tom Morrison, Sandy Cole and Sid Mathias during that time.”
If somebody dropped a dime on Joe they ought to be ashamed of themselves. Seriously, what the heck? The guy is working literally non-stop for his candidates and his party for lousy wages and he’s gotta deal with this silly grilling on top of everything else?
Unreal.
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“Ballot security” plan takes shape
Friday, Oct 3, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AP…
With their sights on unseating a Democratic governor and winning back several congressional seats, Republicans have allocated $1 million in Cook County alone — from fundraising and the Republican Governors Association — to examine voter rolls and recruit 5,000 GOP election judges to watch over polling places in Democrat-heavy Chicago.
In two counties east of St. Louis, the party is examining obituaries to ensure the deceased are removed from the rolls and tracking down death certificates. They’re looking for addresses where utility service has been cut off to determine if registered voters have moved. And they’re checking to see whether people are voting from addresses for vacant lots or commercial properties. Similar efforts are planned for Cook County.
State election officials say they also have noticed an uptick of GOP inquiries about voter registrations in at least two other counties in central Illinois.
Republicans say they’re guarding against voter fraud and responding to Democratic maneuvering to boost their side’s turnout, including adopting same-day registration and putting several non-binding questions on the ballot to appeal to liberal and working-class voters, such as whether Illinois should tax millionaires. The GOP fears outdated voter rolls and a last-minute Democratic push to the polling stations will allow ineligible votes. […]
Rauner told The Associated Press he has been told about the initiative but that the state party, not his campaign, is overseeing it and raising funds. State Sen. Jim Oberweis, a Republican dairy magnate challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, said his campaign was working on it with Rauner’s campaign. Oberweis told AP that Republicans believed they could find up to 60,000 ineligible voters in Chicago. But a campaign spokesman later said that information was “essentially third hand” and “possibly incorrect,” and referred all questions to a state party spokesman.
Chicago has already purged 50,000 “inactive” voters from the rolls, about what it does every year, according to the article.
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* So, earier today, I received this press release…
Billionaire Bruce Rauner has operated and overseen plenty of companies that have engaged in bribery, outright fraud, deadly neglect and other schemes to game the system and pad their pockets.
So how about a board game devoted to Rauner’s troubling business empire-and his own drive for money and power-at the expense of others? As the all-new “Rauneropoly” teaches us, “If he wins - you lose.”
Mr. Money Bags, in a new Wed ad, introduced Rauneropoly Friday
* The Web ad…
* Script…
Mr. Money Bags: “Welcome to Rauneropoly, the game that billionaire Bruce Rauner is playing to become governor. With one roll of the dice, you can see for yourself how to make a fortune on the misfortune of everyday people.
“The game is simple: use taxpayer money to buy companies, load them up with debt, lay off workers and then get the cash and run before they go bankrupt. It’s educational too: learn how to make millions without paying Social Security and Medicare taxes and how to stash cash in the Cayman Islands to avoid paying more taxes. Rauneropoly is cutthroat.
“You’ll have to outsource jobs across the Pacific, squeeze millions of dollars out of nursing homes and cook the books. Even if the people running your company have to go to jail. But you can have fun with your 9 houses and your 11 - yes 11 - golf courses. And don’t worry about free parking - you’ve already got a $100,000 parking space. All of this is just a game to Bruce Rauner - but if he wins, you lose.”
* But Rauner pivoted hard soon afterward…
“And I’ve heard, I’ve heard just this morning about this Rauneropoly game. I think it’s pretty humorous actually.
“You know what, I wasn’t born on Free Parking and I’ve worked hard my whole life. I’ve done well and I’ve given back millions of dollars in the community.
“And Pat Quinn has been rolling the dice with taxpayers’ money.
“And after years of Quinn corruption, the US District Attorney looks like he is about to hand Pat Quinn the worst Monopoly card there is: ‘Go to jail, go directly to jail.’”
Ouch.
* Watch…
*** UPDATE *** From the Quinn campaign…
“Bruce Rauner knows a thing or two about going to jail, since that’s how he has to visit his hand-picked executives and business partners who committed crimes in his name, for his profit and under his nose.
“Whether it’s Stu Levine, who received secret payments in exchange for pension business, or executives we learned about just this week who bribed the mayor of Detroit, or the ongoing trial of deadly nursing homes that he controlled, Bruce Rauner is directly linked to corruption, fraud, waste and abuse.
“Bruce Rauner’s bizarre and offensive comments today are a guilty move meant to distract from his own direct ties to corruption.”
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* And on a related front…
Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor Paul Vallas on Friday unveiled Republican billionaire Bruce Rauner’s “crime tree,” a visual representation of the complex web of neglect, fraud, bribery and criminal corruption that Bruce Rauner and his GTCRauner buyout house have woven.
The release comes the same week that GTCRauner’s oversight of one of the biggest public corruption prosecutions in American history was revealed in the case of the Houston-based sludge company Synagro, which was found to have bribed former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
Media reports have shown a pattern of mismanagement, criminal probes and lack of accountability in businesses owned and controlled by Rauner. This includes the deadly nursing home chain that is facing federal trial in Florida this week.
Bruce Rauner has become a broken record, falsely claiming time and again that he knows nothing about businesses he has controlled for decades.
For example, Rauner and his firm ran Detroit-based Lason before the company “imploded,” providing his wealthy pals with substantial profits as employees lost their jobs and investors lost $285 million. (GTCRauner took $32 million and took off as the firm collapsed.) ConvergEx, meanwhile, profited off of money meant to be used for charities and charged illegal fees, leading to indictments for fraud earlier this year.
“Not only is Bruce Rauner associated with one of the biggest accounting frauds in American history, we have come to find his business oversaw one of the biggest public corruption schemes in American history,” Vallas said. “With scandals of that magnitude happening under his watch, Mr. Rauner took the profits and never looked back. That is not the kind of leadership we need in the Governor’s Office.”
* Click on the “Crime Tree” for a larger image…
You gotta figure this is gonna show up in a TV ad.
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* On its face, this looks pretty ominous…
A trio of downstate Republican senators raised questions Thursday about whether money to help troubled downstate youth was improperly funneled to Chicago-area organizations.
In a Statehouse news conference, the GOP lawmakers leveled a fresh set of charges against Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, who has been on the hot seat in recent months after an audit released this year blasted a 2010 anti-violence program, leading to multiple federal probes.
At issue is $5 million the Quinn administration transferred this summer out of a program for at-risk youth. Republicans say some of the money was then paid to organizations caught up in the 2010 probe of the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative. […]
Republicans allege Quinn has created a slush fund to help him in his race against Republican businessman Bruce Rauner.
“We’ve seen this pattern before: the governor pumps millions of dollars into a Chicago-centric program in the weeks leading up to the November election. Enough is enough,” said state Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon.
* More from Ormsby…
Barickman charged that the $5 million transferred from the Comprehensive Community-Based Youth Services program, which provides community-based individualized services to at-risk youth and their families, resulted in “budget cuts” at Downstate social service agencies.
“It’s frustrating to inform our local providers that their budgets are being cut so that Governor Quinn can increase funding to some of the same deficient providers who were identified in the NRI audit, including one group that owes the state hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Barickman said.
* More from the Sun-Times…
Last spring, state lawmakers appropriated $16.5 million to the Department of Human Services to fund a state-wide program for at-risk youth called Comprehensive Community Based Youth Services.
Barickman said that at some point after July 1, Quinn’s administration moved nearly $4.5 million to the state Criminal Justice Information Authority, which in turn allotted nearly $2 million of that total to five different NRI providers, including Chicago Area Project.
Chicago Area Project was responsible for nearly $2 million in programming in West Garfield Park under NRI and hired the husband of Cook County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown at a six-figure salary to oversee that programming. State taxpayers covered the $146,401 Cook received in salary and fringe benefits over two years for his NRI-related work.
* Bruce Rauner jumped into the fray this morning…
Bruce Rauner today called on Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn to submit to an independent investigation of lawmaker allegations that his administration improperly funneled taxpayer money to a slush fund that is now paying groups linked to the Neighborhood Recovery Imitative, which is currently the subject of two federal criminal investigations.
“This isn’t a partisan issue; this is about about transparency and accountability,” Rauner said. “I urge the governor to submit to an independent investigation by a respected auditor like Bill Holland so the people of Illinois can find out the truth without politics getting in the way.”
* But the Chicago Area Project strongly objected to the GOP claims…
“CAP receives funding from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority for its ongoing youth violence prevention programming and has received funding from DHS for its youth services programming for the past 15 years. CAP has not received any new funding from DHS this year,” group spokesman Jennifer Hutchison said.
The group’s Criminal Justice Information Authority funding was for the non-profit’s summer youth violence prevention programming, and the contract ended August 30, Hutchison said.
* And so did the Quinn administration…
“This is false and ridiculous. As these legislators know, the defunct NRI program was shut down in 2012.”
* On background, the administration claimed that the $5 million was transferred to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority in July to pay existing bills for this past summer’s community violence prevention program, which ended in August.
They also claimed that none of these Chicago-area non-profit organizations received any new or additional funding. The transfer was necessary, they said, because the comptroller’s office made technical changes about which appropriations could cover which programs. The grants also underwent a “rigorous” review process, they claimed.
They also claimed that the programs cited by the Republican legislators received the same level of funding they received the previous year. No local providers’ budgets were cut, they insisted.
And they provided an intergovernmental agreement that lays out the transfer of funds, which you can read yourself by clicking here.
* Back to Ormsby…
Reporters at the press conference pushed back on the GOP charges of “election year politics” by questioning their press conference as “election year politics”.
Barickman said that only Quinn was practicing “election year politics”.
* You can watch the full presser via our great pals at BlueRoomStream.com by clicking here.
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An interesting little development
Friday, Oct 3, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a Downstate subscriber…
I got a robocall from a company called 20/20 Insight last night. It was a push poll focusing on [Libertarian] Chad Grimm and Bruce Rauner.
It asked whether I’d be more likely to vote for Grimm if I knew he was: 1) the only candidate who is pro-life, 2) the only candidate who is for repealing the income tax, 3) the only candidate who is pro-gun and 4) wants to end the war on drugs.
20/20 Insight appears to serve mainly corporate types.
Anybody else receive this call? And, please, record it if you get one of these.
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“Harrison”
Friday, Oct 3, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We’ve seen a handful of very strong positive TV ads this cycle and we can probably add this next one to the list. From a press release…..
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis’ (R-Ill.) campaign today released its fifth television ad for the 2014 general election.
The ad, titled “Harrison”, features Harrison Beler, a U.S. Army veteran from Springfield. In the ad, Harrison talks about the struggles our veterans are facing here at home and the work Rep. Davis is doing in Congress to help them, including legislation, the Hire More Heroes Act, he introduced to incentivize small businesses to hire more veterans.
Rep. Davis is a part of the No Labels Problem Solvers and has been named to the “Governing Caucus”, a coalition of 30 House Republicans willing to join a majority of House Democrats to pass major legislation, by the National Journal. Additionally, in the National Journal’s 2013 Vote Ratings, Davis was ranked the 220th most liberal and the 212th most conservative House member.
The ad begins today.
* The ad…
* Script…
Harrison: Veterans are the backbone of our country.
But I can see them, they are suffering.
Veterans don’t get the jobs, the medical care, the housing and the help they need.
Rodney Davis has seen this problem and he’s stepping up to the plate,
He’s coming out, helping the veterans.
He sponsored a bill to hire more heroes, put more veterans back to work.
The guys in Washington, they might not do nothing.
But our Congressman here does something.
VO: I’m Rodney Davis and I approve this message.
* Meanwhile, Charlie Cook has changed his rating on this race to “Likely Republican”…
IL-13: Rodney Davis - South central: Champaign, Decatur, Springfield
Likely Republican.
At the beginning of the cycle, Democrats couldn’t have been more excited when Madison County Judge Ann Callis jumped into the race. But Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s numbers are dreadful Downstate, and this race is slipping away too. A Public Opinion Strategies poll taken for Davis showed him up 55 percent to 36 percent, and Democrats’ House Majority PAC just cut its TV reservation here.
…Adding… From the Callis campaign…
The campaign of former Chief Judge and Congressional challenger Ann Callis criticized Congressman Rodney Davis for releasing a new TV ad today that doesn’t address his true record for veterans and military families, which includes damaging votes to shut down the government and pass the Ryan Budget. Instead, Congressman Davis’ primary claim in the ad for helping veterans is a bill that has not been signed into law.
“Judge Ann Callis has a proven record of helping veterans throughout her distinguished career in Madison County, earning national awards for her work to establish the first Veterans’ Court in Illinois. As the mother of an Army Ranger, this is something extremely personal and will be a priority for her in Washington. Congressman Davis likes to take credit for helping veterans, but he has actually voted to hurt veterans time and time again. His votes to start and continue the government shutdown put new veterans’ benefits claims at risk, slowed down existing claims for struggling veterans, curtailed veterans’ services, furloughed National Guard and civilian workers, and even threatened death benefits for the families of service members killed in action. Along with voting to cut nutrition benefits for military families, Congressman Davis’ actions clearly speak louder than words,” said Callis spokesman David Miyashiro.
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* An interesting development…
Over the course of the last month, at dates and times convenient to both Governor Quinn and Mr. Rauner, representatives of the Illinois retail community met individually with each major candidate for Governor. During those meetings, their general governing philosophies as well as many issues of importance to retailers and their customers were discussed.
As a result of those meetings, the Illinois Merchants Political Action Committee Team (IMPACT), the political arm of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA), unanimously agreed not to endorse a candidate for Governor in this year’s election. In issuing this decision, IMPACT Treasurer Rob Karr noted that retailers were caught between a desire to see Illinois stabilized and revitalized and discerning which candidate could best accomplish that mission.
Governor Quinn was recognized for his leadership in beginning the process of reforming workers’ compensation, fundamentally addressing the state’s broken pension system, championing leveling the sales tax disparity between Illinois retailers and their Internet competitors, significantly lowering the state’s payment backlog to vendors, and preserving the agreed bill process for unemployment insurance. Conversely, concerns exist that the state will not continue to control spending and retailers disagree with proposals championed by the Governor that significantly add to the cost of doing business, such as increasing the minimum wage, which will make it harder to increase employment in the retail and service sector.
Bruce Rauner’s passion and dedication to Illinois are evident and his desire to limit the growth of government and return Illinois to economic prosperity cannot be questioned and are shared by retailers. At this time, it is unclear how Mr. Rauner would accomplish these goals. Additionally, concerns exist over Mr. Rauner’s lack of support for leveling the sales tax disparity between Illinois retailers and their Internet competitors, the viability of preserving payment backlogs while proposing additional spending, the viability of the agreed bill process for unemployment insurance, and support for minimum wage increases.
Given these uncertainties and concerns with both candidate’s proposals for moving the state forward in a sustainable manner, the IMPACT agreed with the recommendation of the IRMA Board of Directors and declined to endorse in the race for governor.
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE *** If this tweet is indicative at all of the coming media coverage, then this IRMA move could be spun as a “win” for Rauner…
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Caption contest!
Thursday, Oct 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Statement from Governor Pat Quinn on President Obama’s Visit to Illinois
CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn issued the below statement following President Obama’s visit to Illinois. Attached are photos of the President with Governor Quinn at today’s campaign event in Chicago:
“I am thrilled to have President Obama here in Illinois today supporting my re-election campaign.
“President Obama laid out a bold economic vision to support the growth and success of our middle class. That’s exactly what we’ve been working to do here in Illinois.
“Today, unemployment in Illinois is at its lowest point in more than six years, with more people working today than in the first month of my administration. We’ve added more than 39,000 new businesses, and workers are earning the 8th highest wages in the country right here in Illinois. We have more work to do, but we’re making a comeback.
“We stand in strong support of President Obama’s agenda as we work to build on our success, creating more jobs and economic growth for the future.
“With the President’s help - and the support of the people of Illinois - we will continue getting the job done for working families and keep Illinois moving in the right direction.”
* The photo…
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* Sen. Mike Frerichs was asked about the Giannoulias endorsement today…
* Transcript…
Host: “Former Democratic State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias recently actually endorsing your opponent, Tom Cross. He said, among other things, ‘I do appreciate the fact that Tom Cross has done his homework on the office of Treasurer.’ He also said ‘I’ve known Tom Cross for awhile, I think he has courage.’ Were you surprised by a Democrat, Alexi Giannoulias, endorsing your opponent?”
Mike Frerichs: “Change is hard. We’ve promised to come in, and clean up this office. One of the things we want to do, we want to make sure that when families are saving for their children’s education, those dollars are safeguarded. Tom Cross thinks the last two Treasurers have done a great job. They’ve used that office as a stepping stone, and taken their eye off the real responsibilities of the Treasurer’s office.
“I’m a certified public finance officer. I have experience in government finance, unlike my opponent. He’s a lawyer who wants to come in and sue people. We’re not going to grow our economy by suing people. We’re not going to improve our office by doing the same tried (sic, “tired”?) things that have been done in the past. We’re going to come in and shake things up.”
The education thing refers to Giannoulias’ “Bright Start” college savings plan debacle.
But, as I’ve already told subscribers, Frerichs tried reaching out to Giannoulias several times without success. He wanted that endorsement.
Also, while I get his point about “suing people,” suing over an unbalanced budget wouldn’t necessarily hurt the economy. Nice line, though.
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Condemned?
Thursday, Oct 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Was the ad really that evil?…
The left-leaning media has gone nutso about the ad. People have been sending me stories all day.
For the record, I didn’t think it was very funny, believed it was pretty demeaning and maybe counter-productive, but should it be “condemned”?
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* Reposting this because of a stupid typo in the original.
The Illinois Tollway has decided not to penalize a road contractor for contributing $250 to the Bruce Rauner campaign last spring in violation of a state ban on such contributions.
However, the state’s Chief Procurement Office now wants Rauner’s campaign to pony up the $250 within thirty days. Read it here.
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Question of the day
Thursday, Oct 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* These are some surprising remarks from a stalwart Republican…
“Everybody’s angry and fed up with the negative commercials,” Moraine Township Republican Chair Lou Atsaves of Lake Forest said. “People want [the candidates] to concentrate on the issues and grow up.”
Atsaves says voters bristle over commercials put out by the campaign of Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner attacking his Democratic rival Gov. Pat Quinn, as well as Quinn’s ads criticizing Rauner.
“They’re upset about ads which call Quinn a felon and keep calling Rauner ‘Billionaire Bruce,’” Atsaves said.
Though he talks to more Republicans than Democrats, the criticism of the ads comes from all, he says.
* From Bernie’s column today…
Chris Mooney, director of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois, said he believes it is easier to change public perception of a candidate with a short public history than one with a long public career, like Quinn’s.
“Another piece of information about Pat Quinn is one of thousands of pieces we’ve gotten over the years,” Mooney said. “With Bruce Rauner, we don’t have that many pieces of information about him, so another piece that comes in is a higher proportion of everything we know.”
Mooney said corruption hasn’t been part of Quinn’s long-term image, so he questions the “strategic decision” of the Rauner campaign to “try to paint Pat Quinn as a gangster.”
He said it might have been easier to try to put a negative spin on a more familiar image of Quinn, as perhaps an anti-establishment reformer who is “just bumbling along … he’s a good guy but he’s not getting the job done.”
* OK, I know the setup leans against Rauner, but I’m not yet convinced that either analysis is necessarily correct.
I think there’s some needless panic among Republicans as this race has naturally tightened, and I also think there’s a bit of irrational exuberance at this moment among Democrats, whose candidate is still polling around 40 percent in every poll and faces a Republican like no other in this state’s modern history.
* The Question: Whose negative attacks are more effective? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
survey service
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More spending
Thursday, Oct 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Kurt Erickson reports on a college town editorial board meeting with Bruce Rauner…
BLOOMINGTON - Republican candidate for governor Bruce Rauner added Illinois universities to a growing list of state programs he thinks should get more money.
The political newcomer from Winnetka told a joint meeting of the editorial boards of The (Bloomington) Pantagraph and the Decatur Herald & Review Wednesday that an influx of cash for higher education could be used to address skyrocketing college tuition costs.
“The two biggest things I know I can do are increase state support for higher education: We’ve been cutting it for years; that’s pushed tuition costs up. And the other big thing is to work with the universities to improve their management and reduce their administrative spending,” Rauner said.
I agree that universities absolutely need to improve their management and reduce overhead. But we’re now up to four big funding increase proposals from the guy who wants to cut taxes: P-12; Higher Ed; Infrastructure; IDNR.
…Adding… Actually, it’s likely six. He’s said he wants to spend more money on agriculture programs. He’s also said he wants to hire more prison guards.
…Adding More… I’m reminded that he also wants to reopen keep Murray Developmental Center, so that’s seven.
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Another oppo dump
Thursday, Oct 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This time it’s Gaper’s Block…
GTCR, the private equity firm started in part by Republican Gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner, brought on disgraced former Tribune Company executive Randy Michaels in 2011 to run Merlin Media.
At the time Emmis Communications sold a controlling interest in Merlin Media and transferred ownership of three radio stations, two of which were in Chicago, to GTCR.
Michaels was an executive at the Tribune company from 2007 until 2010. The New York Times published an article in October 2010 detailing the behavior of Michaels while he was at the Tribune Company, which included sexual harassment of female employees.
Michaels resigned from his job later that month.
* From that NYT article…
When Kim Johnson, who had worked with Mr. Michaels as an executive at Clear Channel, was hired as senior vice president of local sales on June 16, 2008, the news release said she was “a former waitress at Knockers — the Place for Hot Racks and Cold Brews,” a jocular reference to a fictitious restaurant chain.
A woman who used to work at the Tribune Company in a senior position, but did not want to be identified because she now worked at another media company in Chicago, said that Mr. Michaels and Marc Chase, who was brought in to run Tribune Interactive, had a loud conversation on an open balcony above a work area about the sexual suitability of various employees.
“The conversation just wafted down on all of the people who were sitting there.” She also said that she was present at a meeting where a female executive jovially offered to bring in her assistant to perform a sexual act on someone in a meeting who seemed to be in a bad mood. […]
There have been complaints about Mr. Michaels in the past, however. In 1995, Mr. Michaels and Jacor settled a suit brought by Liz Richards, a former talk show host in Florida who filed an E.E.O.C. complaint and a civil suit, saying she had been bitten on the neck by Mr. Michaels and that he walked through the office wearing a sexual device around his neck.
…Adding… Ibedahl had this story back in February…
In June of 2011, Bruce Rauner’s former private equity firm GTCR partnered with media veteran Randy Michaels to form Merlin Media, LLC. “It’s a pretty standard GTCR deal,” said Philip Canfield, Principal at GTCR. “We’re backing a CEO [Randy Michaels] and doing a corporate carve-out and a bunch of transformation of those underlying assets.”
According to an SEC filing dated September 1, 2011, Michaels, whose real name is Benjamin L. Homel, owned only 1% of Merlin Media. GTCR was the main owner with an approximately 74% interest. Emmis Communications owned the rest.
“We [at GTCR] are extremely excited about the opportunity to partner with Emmis and Randy,” said Canfield back in June of 2011. “Emmis’s CEO, Jeff Smulyan, and Randy Michaels are both proven veterans of the media industry and we look forward to working with them to provide valuable media content to Merlin Media’s future consumers.”
Private Equity International, a magazine dedicated to the private equity industry, describes GTCR’s “intense, relentless” CEO recruitment efforts:
GTCR is known today for having one of the most intense, relentless and successful focuses on CEO recruitment in the private equity industry, and its modus operandi is always the same: seek out an ideal CEO for a given platform, doggedly pursue him or her until the offer is accepted, then help the CEO build a company. In many cases, the CEO is hired before a single acquisition is identified
.
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When the “80 percent” argument fails
Thursday, Oct 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From an op-ed in Illinois Review about conservative displeasure with the self-described “pro-choice” Bruce Rauner…
Four more years of Quinn will mean the continued exodus of people and business out of the state. Many who have left are conservatives who don’t want to feed the monster of the pro-union, pro-abort crowd. A Governor Rauner will help turn things around, which will improve ALL issues - including life issues, should that become an issue.
I would like to think our pro-choice friends are fans of Ronald Reagan. What was one of Reagan’s famous quotes? “Somebody who agrees with me 80 percent of the time is a friend and ally, not a 20 percent traitor!”
Look, if you truly, totally believe that abortion is murder, then you can’t easily rationalize that away with an “80 percent” argument.
If abortion is about taking a human life, then it won’t matter where a candidate is on other topics. Murder is heinous. Tax policy pales in comparison. The above is merely an argument for ranking partisanship above deeply held convictions. It will work for some, of course, because partisanship is such a strong force, but it’s a ludicrous argument to the true believers.
* This, however, is a better argument from the same op-ed…
Quinn is not good for us and to my pro-life friends, please understand that with Quinn, you have nothing, with Rauner, you’ll have something.
Additionally, the pro-life issues are not in play this election, so why make an issue when they are not on the ballot?
The reality is, with Democratic majorities in both legislative chambers, pro-life legislation is going nowhere no matter who the governor is. A governor can do some things via rulemaking, but that would only be on the margins.
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Proft poll: Quinn leads 41-39-5
Thursday, Oct 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Dan Proft…
Liberty Principles PAC, an independent expenditure political action committee that supports candidates for local and state legislative office who are committed to the economic liberty policy agenda, commissioned at survey on the Illinois Governor’s race this week conducted by the firm of Fabrizio Lee (www.fabriziolee.com).
The survey, conducted over three days from September 27-29, completed 600 live interviews (418 landline; 182 cell phones) of likely voters (MOE +/- 4%). 30% of completed surveys were cell phone respondents.
The survey found Gov. Pat Quinn with a slight lead 41-39 over GOP challenger Bruce Rauner with Libertarian candidate Chad Grimm received 5% of the vote.
Other political landscape highlights from the survey:
-The generic ballot in Illinois is +14 Democrat (44-30) but it is only +7 Democrat (45-38) for the Governor’s race.
-65% of Illinoisans think the state is on the wrong track compared to only 25% who think the state is on the right track.
-Gov. Quinn’s is viewed favorable/unfavorable split is 33/42. Bruce Rauner’s favorable/unfavorable split is 35/34.
-Gov. Quinn’s re-elect number is at 33% with 58% of Illinoisans saying it’s time for someone else to be Governor.
-Gov. Quinn’s job approval rating is upside down with 39% of Illinoisans approving of his job performance and 53% disapproving of his performance. As an interesting aside, President Obama’s job performance is viewed favorably by 47% of Illinoisans and unfavorably by 47% of Illinoisans.
-With undecided voters, Gov. Quinn’s image is 15/29, his job approval is 27/46 and his re-elect is 13% with 54% wanting a new person for Governor.
-Gov. Quinn leads female voter by 12 percentage points. Bruce Rauner leads male voters by 9 percentage points.
-Gov. Quinn leads Cook county by +28. Bruce Rauner leads rest of Chicago DMA by +15 and the rest of the state by +13.
-Among those who have heard of both candidates (83% of sample) it is 41/41. Among those who have an opinion of both (61% of sample) it is Bruce Rauner +4. Among those who are unfavorable to both (10% right now but this will grow) it is Gov. Quinn +12.
“The last month of the campaign will be a contest between Gov. Quinn’s ability to effectively demonize Rauner and Rauner’s ability to make those looking for a new governor comfortable with him as that choice,” said Dan Proft, President of Liberty Principles PAC.
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* From the ILGOP…
President Obama is delivering a speech in Chicago today designed to “pivot back to the economy,” but he could hardly have picked a worse state to do it in. Illinois’ economy has suffered badly under Gov. Pat Quinn, who is himself struggling desperately to hold on to his own job.
“Gov. Quinn and President Obama may say unemployment is going down, but more and more Illinoisans are giving up because of Quinn’s economy,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider. “The only way to improve Illinois’ jobs climate immediately is to fire Gov. Quinn and elect Bruce Rauner.”
What Will Obama say about Caterpillar?
Obama Then: 2013 State of the Union: “Our first priority is making America a magnet for new jobs and manufacturing. After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three. Caterpillar is bringing jobs back from Japan. Ford is bringing jobs back from Mexico. And this year, Apple will start making Macs in America again.” (2013 State of the Union Address)
Caterpillar Today: “Caterpillar representatives say they are is still concerned about Illinois’ business climate.” “LaHood says people continue to leave the state because of job loss, and that’s something that needs to change by turning the business climate around, not only will IL attract more business, but it will solidify caterpillar’s decision to build its new headquarters in Peoria.” (WEEK-TV NBC, Peoria, IL - LaHood insinuates that Caterpillar might not put headquarters in Peoria if Quinn wins, Rauner campaigns in Peoria, 10/1/14)
What will Obama say about Quinn’s Record on Jobs?
Illinois is 2nd-worst for business under Pat Quinn “A Chicago-area research group is out with its annual listing of best and worst states in which to do business — and Illinois, once again, is bringing up the rear. According to the Park Ridge-based American Economic Development Institute, the Land of Lincoln ranked 49th of the 50 states in its overall pro-business status, ahead of only California.” … “Most damaging, I thought, was a grade of F on ‘marketing/website response to new and existing employers.’ If so, that’s inexcusable.” (Greg Hinz, “Illinois second-worst state for biz, study finds” Crain’s Chicago Business, 9/23/14)
Illinois has the worst unemployment in the Midwest for African Americans ”Illinois is the worst state in the Midwest for black male unemployment, new data reveals. The unemployment rate for black men is 47.9 percent, placing it highest among all Midwestern states in this category.” (Brady Cremeens, “Illinois is worst state in Midwest for black male employment” Watchdog.org, 9/29/14)
Illinois has the 3rd-worst jobless rate for veterans of any state - According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Illinois’ jobless rate for veterans was 9.2 percent, tied for third worst of any state behind Michigan (10.6) and New Jersey (10.8), and well above the national average of 6.6 percent. More veterans were outside the labor force in Illinois (359,000) than were employed in Illinois (347,000) in 2013. (Bureau of Labor Statics, Table 6a, Employment status of veterans 18 years and over by state, 2013 annual averages, Accessed 10/2/14)
Hispanic workers are struggling in Quinn’s economy “Hispanic Illinoisans are struggling to find work as well, with an employment rate decline of 6.4 percent since 2008 and a decrease of more than eight percent for Hispanic males in that same time period.” (Brady Cremeens, “Experts tackle IL’s minority unemployment problem” Watchdog.org, 9/18/14)
Illinois Jobless rate for Teens and Millennials the worst in the Midwest “Young workers have also taken a hit. Illinois has the worst employment rate in the Midwest for teenage workers age 16-19.” “Illinois also has the worst employment rate in the Midwest for workers age 20-24.” (Michael Lucci, “Who’s hurting in Illinois?” Illinois Policy Institute - 9/22/14)
More illegal cronies than under Blagojevich “In a blow to Gov. Pat Quinn, his former transportation secretary has accused his office of pushing ‘the vast majority’ of improper political hires in her agency … “It is my recollection that [the] vast majority of Rutan-exempt hires were chosen from those recommended to me or my staff by the governor’s office,” [Former IDOT Secretary Ann] Schneider said, referring to the landmark Rutan U.S. Supreme Court opinion that placed limits on political hiring in government jobs.” … “’Neither I nor my staff were in a position to reject the recommended individuals for these exempt positions as no additional interview process was required,’ she said.” (Dave McKinney Ex-IDOT boss blames gov’s office for majority of improper hires Chicago Sun-Times – 8/22/14)
Will Obama respond to Quinn’s NRI Scandal, which included nearly $4 million in federal disaster money?
Sen. Kirk, Republicans demand answers for $3.76 million in HUD disaster relief funding transferred to Quinn’s NRI: “The Illinois Republican Congressional Delegation, including U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk and Republican U.S. Reps. Peter Roskam, Aaron Schock, John Shimkus, Adam Kinzinger, Randy Hultgren and Rodney Davis sent a letter Wednesday to President Obama expressing their continued concern over the misuse of federal disaster funds by the state of Illinois for the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative.” (Kirk and ILGOP Congressmen call on Obama to investigate Quinn’s use of federal funds Illinois Review, 10/1/14)
*** UPDATE *** DGA response…
Today President Barack Obama returns to his hometown to support his friend Governor Quinn, a leader who is getting the job done and shares his vision for creating more jobs and opportunities for working families.
In contrast, Bruce Rauner, a billionaire who has made a fortune at the expense hard working families and the suffering of the most vulnerable, will continue stumping on issues that limit the economic opportunity and health of those struggling to get ahead.
Here’s a recap of Bruce Rauner versus President Obama, Governor Quinn and the Working Families of Illinois:
Rauner would have vetoed the expansion of healthcare for the working poor.
Bruce Rauner told extremist Tea Party supporters that he would have rejected Medicaid expansion in Illinois, the key component of the Affordable Care Act championed and enacted by Governor Quinn that has provided healthcare coverage to more than 468,000 people in Illinois.
Rauner wants to eliminate the minimum wage completely.
Bruce Rauner was caught on video earlier this year advocating to cut the minimum wage. Facing criticism over his remarks, he claimed to the media that he “misspoke” at the time and was “flippant.” Nope: Video later surfaced showing he wanted to eliminate the minimum wage altogether.
Rauner would tax the consumption of items like food and medicine, while giving huge tax breaks that benefit the wealthy the most.
Bruce Rauner previously announced a regressive plan to tax services (while protecting the buyout business that made him so rich), and has recently made clear he wants to tax consumption. Taxing consumption on everyday items like food, medicine and groceries, would be a disaster not only for our economic recovery-but also for hard-working families who would end up paying a greater share of their income than the wealthy. Conveniently, Rauner’s plan includes tax breaks that benefit the very wealthy the most.
Rauner would advance an irresponsible budget that slashes public schools.
Bruce Rauner’s regressive tax plan would put an additional one million dollars in his own pocket, while requiring historic cuts to education. The cuts could lead to layoffs of more than 27,000 teachers - 1 in every 6 teachers statewide.
Whether its his opposition to affordable care for all, cutting wages for workers or his tax plan to shift financial burdens onto the backs of working families, Bruce Rauner has made it clear that he is out for himself. Policies that trample working families shouldn’t pave the way to the Governor’s Office.
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* Remember this 2011 Bruce Rauner quote we discussed yesterday morning?…
“Unfortunately, I think President Obama is one of the most anti-business presidents we’ve had in the last 70 years.”
* Well, the AP reported this development late yesterday…
During the GOP primary, Rauner said he didn’t have a view on the use of public funds for the library. Now, the wealthy businessman says private money should be used and he’d personally contribute.
My, how times change.
* Also, Gov. Pat Quinn said he supported Speaker Madigan’s $100 million state construction money help for the Obama library in the spring…
Quinn now tells AP private money should “make up the majority” of funding.
As I’ve already told you, Madigan’s idea polled horribly with the public from the start.
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Today’s number: Two-thirds
Thursday, Oct 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tim Jones writes about the Illinois gubernatorial campaign and state finances…
Largely undebated in the race to run the nation’s fifth-largest state is its crushing pension debt, the lowest credit rating in the U.S. and a budget that will run dry next year if elevated income-tax rates expire as scheduled in three months, cutting annual revenue by about 14 percent. […]
“The reality is so bad that neither one of them can afford to tell the truth in terms of numbers,” said Kent Redfield, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield. […]
For Illinois residents who have watched the state’s finances deteriorate for decades, the race carries with it an expectation that the crisis will be addressed only after the Nov. 4 election.
“This is similar to where we were four years ago,” said Carol Portman, president of the Taxpayers’ Federation of Illinois, a nonpartisan fiscal advocacy group.
“If the tax code isn’t changed and spending isn’t changed, two-thirds of the budget will be used to pay last year’s bills,” Portman said. “It’s a big and scary place to be.”
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Good morning!
Thursday, Oct 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rep. Chad Hays requested this crazy good version of Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” by Grace Potter. It takes about a minute to get going, but make sure to watch all the way to the end. Wow…
So I remember ev’ry face
Of ev’ry man who put me here
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Ridiculous allegation withdrawn
Wednesday, Oct 1, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Remember this idiotic, irresponsible lede not backed up by any facts?…
State Sen. Donne Trotter took $2,000 in cash from a convicted felon who got the money from an undercover FBI agent posing as an Indian businessman, lawyers for a South Side man allege.
The US Attorney’s office said at the time that there was nothing to the allegation. Simple logic suggests that if the feds suspected a state legislator of being on the take, they’d have been all over the guy (five years ago, by the way). Yet, despite the government statement and common sense, the Sun-Times led with a wild allegation by a couple of criminal defense lawyers.
* Today, they had to walk it back…
Defense attorneys in the illegal lobbying trial of C. Greg Turner have withdrawn allegations that State Sen. Donne Trotter accepted a $2,000 cash bribe as part of an FBI sting.
Turner’s attorneys Michael Leonard and James Tunick last week had alleged that Trotter accepted the cash from Turner’s co-defendant, Prince Asiel Ben Israel, then failed to declare it as either a political contribution or as income on his taxes.
But on Wednesday Tunick told U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo that he would not quiz Trotter about that allegation when Trotter takes the stand as a witness against Turner. Speaking outside court, Leonard later said that he and Tunick “no longer have a good faith basis” to do so.
The lesson: Defense lawyers will often say anything - even stuff made up out of thin air - to help their clients. Automatically believing people like that is a gigantic mistake.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Question of the day
Wednesday, Oct 1, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
What better way to make your point than with a “Say Yes to the Dress” parody?
That’s exactly what a new ad from the College Republican National Committee is doing to urge people to vote for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner. […]
It starts out with a woman wearing a classy, well-fit wedding dress, where she proclaims “the Bruce Rauner is perfect.”
“Bruce Rauner is becoming a trusted brand,” the woman says. “He has new ideas that don’t break your budget.”
* The online ad…
* The Question: Funny or not? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
customer surveys
*** UPDATE *** The College Republican National Committee has produced very similar ads for five other gubernatorial races.
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Adventures in governing
Wednesday, Oct 1, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Let’s hope they can come up with a much-needed fix…
An Illinois House panel has set a hearing to look into Speaker Michael Madigan’s proposal to separate the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
The House State Government Administration committee is scheduled to take up the issue on Wednesday morning in Chicago.
Give it to the feds, give it to the U of I, whatever. There’s too much conflict over there and too many clouted higher-ups who can’t be fired to ever hope the state can fix it.
* The fixing here is too darned slow…
Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration is moving too slowly when it comes to developing a plan for the future of a shuttered, state-owned resort on Lake Shelbyville, a group of lawmakers and elected officials said Tuesday.
The Eagle Creek Resort has been closed for five years after dangerous levels of mold were discovered in the hotel. In March, a Decatur-based developer hired to reopen the resort abandoned the effort, citing an impasse with state officials over how the company wanted to proceed. […]
On Monday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent IDNR a letter reminding the agency of the terms of its lease for the Eagle Creek facility, which sits on corps property.
Lou Dell’Orco, the corps’ St. Louis district chief of operations, said the letter was designed to ensure the state fulfills its role in providing the corps with a plan for the future of the property. The letter follows a meeting with state officials in late July. […]
In a prepared statement, IDNR said it is following state rules to hire a company to assess the building and grounds. But such a report isn’t likely to be completed until mid-2015.
Closed for five years and an assessment won’t be finished for another year?
Ugh.
* And if they weren’t going to be called to testify anyway, I’m not sure how this qualifies as a boycott…
A legislative hearing set for later this week on Illinois High School Association operations won’t have a key player: the high-school sports governing body itself.
IHSA officials announced Monday they plan to “have no official presence” at the House Elementary & Secondary Education Committee hearing set for 4 p.m. Friday at South Shore High School because they’ve been “informed that the IHSA will be unable to testify or call witnesses during the hearing.”
In a news release posted on the association’s website, IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman said, “We plan to let the 700-plus IHSA supporters who have voted online in opposition of these hearings and the 25 pages of testimony they submitted on our behalf speak for us in absentia on Friday.”
* Meanwhile, Crain’s had a recent article entitled “The one utility not asking for help from Springfield”…
In Illinois’ energy industry, there’s a new kid in town. But the kid isn’t playing by the rules that have governed energy politics in this state for decades.
The piece goes on to claim that Princeton, New Jersey-based NRG Energy Inc. - one of the largest power generators in the nation which just bought a bunch of coal-fired plants here - doesn’t want anything out of the General Assembly, unlike Exelon and Ameren…
Lee Davis, president of NRG’s East region, which includes Illinois, says, “We don’t have an ‘ask.’ “ […]
Mr. Davis says NRG will lobby against providing subsidies to competitors like Exelon, since it’s investing on its own in plants many thought would close in the face of low power prices and stricter environmental standards.
“We agree with the Exelon of six years ago,” he says, referring to Exelon’s stance when power prices were higher that market forces should win out over government attempts to cut electricity rates. Everyone in the competitive power industry understood they were exposed to commodity volatility, Mr. Davis says. Asking for subsidies “is just kind of a silly argument for NRG to make.”
* But read down to the bottom…
NRG’s Mr. Davis says his company will argue that if the state insists on adding hundreds of millions to ratepayers’ electric bills annually to comply with new federal greenhouse gas rules, it should look beyond preserving nuclear plants that ratepayers already have financed. In keeping with NRG’s embrace of solar power and other green technologies, he says new renewable energy facilities should be prioritized.
Legislators “just need to be presented with more than one option,” he says.
Yeah, and that “prioritized” spending won’t come without a state cost? OK, sure.
Look, I’m for green tech. The faster we can ween ourselves off of Middle Eastern oil the better. All hands on deck, so to speak. Fracking, drilling, green energy, well-regulated nuclear, higher MPG requirements, electric cars, more trains, more mass transit, bike lanes… Whatever it takes, spend it, because it’s far cheaper in both blood and treasure than endless wars over ancient religious schisms and tribal boundary disputes.
But, don’t tell me NRG won’t have an “ask.” It’ll have an ask.
* And speaking of fracking, Raghav Murali and Daniel J. Deeb have an article in Shiff Hardin’s environmental newsletter about the new fracking rules…
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) on August 29, 2014 filed proposed rules that if adopted, will create additional burdens on companies seeking to extract natural gas in Illinois. The proposed rules, filed with the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR), represent IDNR’s final rules implementing the Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory (Act), the comprehensive law which permits, and strictly regulates, high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in Illinois.
These new rules (Rules) could be argued to impose requirements well-beyond those expressly provided by the Act and the proposed rules issued by the IDNR on November 13, 2013. The following are among the ways in which the Rules could be viewed to go beyond requirements of the Act.
Go read the whole thing.
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* With President Obama coming to Chicago today to fundraise for Gov. Pat Quinn, I thought it might be a good time to post something I’ve had for a couple of weeks (I came up with the idea the week I was sick and never got around to posting it).
Back then, I was looking for something else and stumbled upon a Politico story from this past March…
Bruce Rauner, the billionaire Republican nominee for Illinois governor, is doing all he can to turn himself into a career politician named Mark Kirk. […]
Rauner has on his staff four Kirk alumni in his effort to replicate the moderate GOP senator’s path to blue-state victory. And like Kirk — and unlike Republicans in almost everywhere else in the country — Rauner avoids bashing President Barack Obama, who remains popular in his home state.
That’s true. He avoids talking about Obama.
* But I figured there had to be something out there, so I asked the Quinn campaign if they had any anti-Obama remarks in their files. They sent over a Bloomberg interview from May, 2011…
“Unfortunately, I think President Obama is one of the most anti-business presidents we’ve had in the last 70 years.
“His policies and anti-business rhetoric have created a level of hostility and unpredictability coming out of Washington that’s damaging to our economy.”
If you do the math, he’s referring to FDR as being the most anti-business president before Obama.
* When asked if Obama’s actions represented “outright hostility” or just “neglect,” Rauner responded…
“I would say hostility.”
* Raw audio…
…Adding… Oops. Forgot to post this one…
* Michelle Obama in new ad: ‘Barack and I’ are voting for Quinn: “Now, Pat’s fighting to raise the minimum wage. He’s working to create jobs here at home, instead of shipping jobs overseas. And he’ll never cut funding from military families or veterans to give a tax break to the wealthy. That’s the choice, and there’s just too much at stake in this election to stay home. So for this election, Barack and I are casting our votes for Pat Quinn.”
* The ad is here
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Callis recycles ad, reportedly lowers buys
Wednesday, Oct 1, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Former Chief Judge and Congressional challenger Ann Callis today released her fourth television ad of the general election, “Deserve.” Building on Callis’ initial introduction to voters, the ad focuses on her pragmatic leadership as Judge in Madison County, where she spearheaded major bipartisan initiatives like establishing the first Veterans’ Court in Illinois to help troubled veterans get back on their feet. The ad also highlights Callis’ personal commitment to help military families as the proud mother of an Army Ranger who returned this summer from a tour in Kuwait.
* The ad…
* Does that look familiar to you? It should. From the NRCC…
The problem is this ad isn’t new at all. Callis launched the same ad back in February during her primary. Watch it here.
We will give her credit – she changed the one and only citation in the ad, but everything else is exactly the same. Is this rerun of the same ad the only way Callis can afford to put a “new” message on the air?
Rodney Davis just announced today a hugely successful Q3 – over $500k raised with $1.2M cash on hand. Apparently the folks in Washington understand Callis’ campaign is a total flop. What else would explain the fake “new” TV ad? Has the Pelosi money tree been chopped down?
It’s not that recycling an ad is a big scandal or anything, but there’s no doubt that doing so saves a bunch of production cash. Also, from the Davis campaign…
(T)hey dropped from 800 to 500 GRP this week. Another sign of low funds?
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* Sen. Michael Frerichs laid into Rep. Tom Cross’ stated plans for the treasurer’s office during an interview with the SJ-R editorial board yesterday. Regarding Cross’ pledge to sue if the GA passes an unbalanced budget, Frerichs noted the treasurer has no such constitutional authority to do so, then went for the throat…
If you take him at his word that this is really a high priority and that it’s fundamental for the state, then he ought to have some opinion on Bruce Rauner’s budget.
It doesn’t take that long to read through it. And it also doesn’t take that long to read through numerous economists, political scientists and journalists who have all looked at his budget and pronounced it is horribly out of balance.
You can’t claim to be a watchdog for the state, you can’t claim to be focused on a balanced budget, and then have no thoughts on this clearly unbalanced budget by the head of your state party. You can’t call yourself a watchdog, and be a lapdog protecting your own party.
Oof.
That’s the cleanest shot he’s taken at Cross since Day One.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From the Cross campaign…
“Another desperate, false attack by Sen. Mike Frerichs. After being rebuked for blatantly false attacks on Tom’s record, now Sen. Frerichs is careening toward a new attack that is equally false.
Here’s the bottom line: Tom Cross has consistently and forcefully said that balancing the budget is a top priority and he will not hesitate to enforce that constitutional requirement, whether it be a Republican or Democrat Governor.
In contrast, Mike Frerichs dutifully voted with Gov. Quinn this year on a budget that was called unbalanced by independent, non-partisan rating agencies. That’s why it’s not surprising that Sen. Frerichs’ own hometown paper wrote that he ‘clearly doesn’t know what he really thinks, and, when candidates don’t know what they believe, they say whatever seems convenient at the moment.’”
Champaign News-Gazette May 1, 2014
*** UPDATE 2 *** Frerichs campaign…
Tom Cross misled the public when he told the SJ-R editorial board “I haven’t read his [Rauner’s] proposal” as he once again refused to answer questions on whether the Rauner budget is balanced and Constitutional.
Just weeks ago, Mr. Cross said otherwise:
“Sometimes Republicans disagree,” Rep. Cross said of his opposition to the Rauner tax plan. “I don’t support any of the service taxes.”
The former Illinois House minority leader, Rep. Cross said he wanted it on record that he supports “everything else” in Mr. Rauner’s plan for the state.
- Dispatch-Argus, Quad Cities, July 22nd
http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=689203&query=cross%20rauner
As Oswego Willy notes, Tom Cross has not only been a lapdog for Bruce Rauner, but was very cozy with Rod Blagojevich. Tom Cross led efforts to pass Rod Blagojevich’s $10 billion pension borrowing deal which lined the pockets of both their friends. Before that, Cross supported every single George Ryan budget, turning surpluses into deficits, engaging in historic borrowing to fund pork projects, and ending with a budget that Tom Cross voted for that was $600 million out of balance.
Capitolfax fans can see it all here at about the 17 minute mark and judge for themselves whether Mr. Cross is being honest:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBdsCVllNK8&list=UUWmlNV4T2GQdNz6UTF4RJ2g
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* The comment comes at about the 19-minute mark…
* Frerichs goes on to say he opposes making the income tax hike permanent, but wouldn’t rule out any new revenues, pointing out that Rauner and Comptroller Topinka both have said the same sort of thing.
* Meanwhile, Frerichs sent out a fundraising email this week entitled “Slick New Packaging Can’t Hide The Real Tom Cross Record”…
Dear Friend,
The race for Treasurer is heating up, and with just 35 days to go, we’ve got the momentum.
We need your help to keep the pressure on our opponent, by contributing whatever you can today, whether it is $5 or $500, to stop Tom Cross and his ultra-conservative agenda dead in its tracks.
Tom Cross is trying desperately to rebrand himself, but he can’t run away from 22 years of voting with corporate and conservative interests in Springfield:
In 2014, Tom Cross turned his back on equal rights for women.
In May of this year, Tom Cross stood with the ultra-conservative Illinois Family Institute, and failed to support efforts to advance the Equal Rights Amendment.
In 2011, Tom Cross was leading a national effort to protect discrimination in all 50 states.
Tom Cross was a member of a national task force backed by the ultra-conservative ALEC, which was co-founded by Henry Hyde, author of the federal abortion ban. The task force met behind closed doors in 2011 to push for legislation in all 50 states that would protect businesses that discriminate on the basis of race, gender or sexual orientation and engage in patterns of sexual harassment.
In 2010, Tom Cross turned his back on equal rights for gay Americans.
Tom Cross voted to block the march toward marriage equality, joining with ultra-conservatives who oppose basic rights of loving same sex couples by voting against civil unions.
Tom Cross has a long record of undermining Illinois values that stretches back 22 years.
Tom Cross has repeatedly opposed the minimum wage, voted against ending racial profiling, voted to legalize workplace discrimination against gays, and funded the elections of Tea Party conservatives that fight progressive priorities every single day.
After two decades of stepping on our values, Tom Cross wants to use the Treasurer’s Office as a stepping stone to impose right-wing values on Illinois
Our campaign is fighting back, but we need your help.
The fundraising quarter ends tonight at midnight, and we are just 210 donors away from reaching our goal. Please give $25, $50, $250, or as much as you afford today.
Thank you,
Team Frerichs
* Carol Marin is not amused with this line of attack…
Frerichs is pitching hard that Cross is a right-wing conservative and a tea party acolyte.
Cross is not. He is, however, a Republican who has, to use his word, “evolved” on some issues. Including same-sex marriage, which he opposed until last year’s vote legalizing it in Illinois. You might argue that was a kind of deathbed conversion prior to a primary. But you might also argue that in so doing he gave his tea party opponent in the March election ammunition to use against him.
Frerichs, by the way, has also “evolved.” He used to be an opponent of abortion rights. Today both he and Cross are endorsed by the liberal, abortion rights group Personal PAC.
What does same-sex marriage or abortion have to do with the Treasurer’s race?
Not an ever-lovin’ thing.
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* A new poll taken for a Republican candidate has Bruce Rauner leading Gov. Pat Quinn 43-37, with 5 percent going to Libertarian Chad Grimm and 16 percent undecided. Click here to read the full results, with geo-tabs.
Rauner is scoring 20 percent in Chicago, which is about where he wants to be, and leading Quinn 46-38 in suburban Cook. Not good for PQ.
The poll of 1,290 likely voters was taken September 30th by Communication Express. It has a margin of error of +/-2.9 percent. The pollster was pretty darned accurate in 2010 (off by just a couple in the governor’s race, but spot on in the US Senate and comptroller’s races), so, yes, it’s a poll for a GOP candidate, but it’s not to be taken lightly.
* The poll found Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka leading Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon 53-31, with another 5 going to the Libertarian candidate.
* And Rep. Tom Cross leads Sen. Michael Frerichs 44-34, with 19 percent undecided and the Libertarian getting 3 percent.
35 percent self-identified as Democrats, 38 percent said they were independents and 27 of respondents said they were Republicans.
However, just 10 percent said they were African-Americans, which seems a bit light to me, although not to the campaign which commissioned it. Even so, that wouldn’t have moved the needle in a huge way.
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Pumping up the base
Wednesday, Oct 1, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From that recent Rasmussen Results poll of Illinoisans that we discussed yesterday…
* Do you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable impression of the new health care law?
Very favorable 17%
Somewhat favorable 27%
Somewhat unfavorable 14%
Very unfavorable 37%
Not sure 5%
So, 44 percent favorable, 51 percent unfavorable. Obamacare is upside down here, according to one poll at least.
* Keeping that in mind, from the Tribune…
Gov. Pat Quinn wasn’t especially visible when Illinois residents were signing up for Affordable Care Act coverage last year, but on Tuesday he called getting people health coverage the “mission of a lifetime.”
Three things have changed: The state has far exceeded expectations for how many people it has signed up for health coverage, public attitudes toward the program have improved, and President Barack Obama will raise money for a re-election-seeking Quinn in Chicago on Thursday.
The Democratic governor on Tuesday announced that Illinois has signed up 468,000 people through the state’s Medicaid program, far more than the roughly 200,000 Quinn administration expected to sign up this year and also surpassing the 342,000 the state thought would ever enroll under the health care expansion. Another 217,000 in Illinois signed up for private insurance coverage via the exchange set up under the health law.
* OK, back to the Rasmussen poll. Among Democrats, 71 percent had a favorable view of the new law, as did 72 percent of African-Americans. And, as we’ve seen in this and other polling, Quinn still has some “base” problems.
* Now, on to today’s Sun-Times story…
Newly surfaced video of Republican Bruce Rauner obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times shows him telling conservative activists in Lake County last year that, as governor, he would have blocked Gov. Pat Quinn’s 2013 expansion of Medicaid. […]
“If you were governor of Illinois, would you have accepted Medicaid expansion and what do you think about the other Republican governors around the country that rejected Medicaid expansion?” Rauner was asked.
“I would not have accepted the expansion,” Rauner responded then. “I’m deeply concerned: We have a massive problem in our Medicaid system in Illinois. It’s full of corruption and abuse, and we are facing a problem that will dwarf our pension problem in about four or five years with our Medicaid system. It’s out of control, it’s corrupt.” […]
Asked Tuesday whether Rauner’s words accurately portray his position now on rolling back Medicaid, a campaign spokesman sounded a similar refrain against “fraud” and “abuse” within Medicaid but didn’t explicitly say if the candidate favored undoing Quinn’s expansion or keeping it in place.
* The video…
Discuss.
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NRI head will testify next week
Wednesday, Oct 1, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Republicans will get more than just a “perp walk” next week…
The former head of the state agency Gov. Pat Quinn put in charge of his failed Neighborhood Recovery Initiative anti-violence grant program will answer questions from a legislative panel next week, her lawyer said Tuesday.
Barbara Shaw, the one-time director of the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority is regarded as a pivotal witness with firsthand knowledge of the preparation and roll-out of the $54.5 million grant program that is now under criminal investigation by federal prosecutors in Springfield and Chicago.
“We’re prepared to respond to the questions that are asked of her,” Shaw’s attorney, John Theis, told Early & Often, the Chicago Sun-Times’ political portal.
“Naturally, it’s always a concern when people are out there, and there’s an active investigation, but Barbara won’t be asserting any 5th Amendment privilege,” Theis said.
The governor is going back into the barrel. And that’s a big reason why you’re seeing the oppo flow so fast and furious right now. We’ll have more on that topic in a bit.
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* The Sun-Times has a front-page story today about another Bruce Rauner company, this one called Synagro Technologies Inc., which was involved in the corruption probe that eventually sent Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to prison for 28 years…
Getting a far shorter term after cooperating with the feds was an executive for Synagro Technologies Inc., a company based in Houston. The executive, James Rosendall, pleaded guilty to bribery in 2009 and testified in Kilpatrick’s trial last year, describing his role in what he called “the pay-to-play thing going on in the city of Detroit.”
Rosendall’s push on Synagro’s behalf intensified in 2007. That was shortly before the company won a billion-dollar sludge contract from Detroit officials — and not long after GTCR had divested its majority stake in Synagro.
But court records show Rosendall’s efforts to sway Kilpatrick and other Detroit leaders dated back several years, to the middle of the period when GTCR controlled Synagro.
GTCR first invested in Synagro in 2000, eventually holding a majority stake in the company. Rauner and his partners did not cash out completely until 2006.
Chartered jets to Las Vegas, paying off the mayor’s father to get city business, etc. And, of course, GTCR cashed out just in time. Go read the whole thing.
* Rauner’s campaign basically claimed that Rauner wasn’t on the board and that GTCR were merely investors…
In a statement, Rauner campaign spokesman Mike Schrimpf said, “Bruce was never on the board at Synagro and, as investors, GTCR would not have been aware of the individual actions of every employee of a nationwide company. What Mr. Rosendall did was clearly wrong, and Bruce believes he was rightfully prosecuted and convicted.”
* Well, a quick Google search found a January, 2000 press release entilted: “Synagro Announces New Financial Partners”…
“My management team and I are delighted to be partnering with GTCR,” said Ross Patten, Synagro’s Chairman and CEO. “GTCR offers a valuable and proven perspective that will be helpful as we execute our growth strategies, including making and integrating additional acquisitions.”
“Synagro is a leader in the fragmented and growing residuals management industry,” noted David A. Donnini, principal of GTCR.”With Ross Patten’s vision and proven leadership, Synagro has the potential to grow exponentially and represents an exciting investment opportunity for our investors.” Mr. Donnini and Vincent J. Hemmer, also of GTCR, will join Synagro’s Board of Directors in connection with the GTCR Financing.
Emphasis added for obvious reasons.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Quinn campaign response…
A sludge company controlled by GTCRauner has been exposed today for its direct ties to the bribery scandal that took down the mayor of Detroit.
It was one of the biggest public corruption prosecutions in American history and a Rauner-controlled sludge company was found to have bribed former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in a case that became known as “Kilpatrick Inc.”
Below is the statement of Quinn for Illinois Press Secretary Izabela Miltko in response to the breaking news:
“Bruce Rauner’s existing ties to pay-to-play politics have been overshadowed by the news that executives of a firm he controlled bribed a sitting mayor to get contracts.
“To date, Mr. Rauner has taken no responsibility for his troubling business record of corruption, fraud and mismanagement. But he has always taken the profits.
“GTCRauner was in the driver’s seat at Synagro. As such, Rauner must account for the criminal actions committed under his leadership and in his company’s name, while he was in control.
“Bruce Rauner has a duty now to make available the full criminal record and internal documents describing his and his company’s actions in this bribery case.
“Mr. Rauner has made his business experience his chief qualification to be governor. Now we learn of his company’s direct oversight of bribery and corruption, and Mr. Rauner must explain.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** More Quinn react…
News breaking today that GTCRauner was in control of a Houston-based sludge company in the period it began bribing the former mayor of Detroit, in one of the biggest public corruption cases in modern American history, has raised troubling new questions.
1. Did Bruce Rauner and his partners know about and/or approve the bribes to Kilpatrick Inc.? If not, how did they account for the massive sums of money spent on the criminal enterprise?
2. Were Bruce Rauner or his partners ever contacted by the FBI about the bribes and criminal conduct at Synagro?
3. Will Bruce Rauner make available to the public any internal reviews or reports about the criminal activities at Synagro and of its executives?
4. In Lason, Bruce Rauner was associated with one of the largest accounting frauds in American history. Now, in Synagro, he has ties to one of the largest public corruption cases in American history. With that magnitude of scandals happening under his watch, why should voters think that Mr. Rauner would do any better of a job overseeing the State of Illinois?
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Rate Rauner’s three new TV ads
Wednesday, Oct 1, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bruce Rauner is running three new TV ads. The first one we’lll look at features a retired Chicago cop who blasts Gov. Quinn for his early release program…
* The second ad is about jobs…
* And the last ad we’ll look at in this post was spotted by Wordslinger last night. He wrote up a pretty witty, on-the-fly analysis…
Just spotted what I think is a new Rauner “mixed” ad.
Caught it out of the corner of my eye on Channel 5 in a watering hole, so not verbatim, but it goes a little something like this:
Opens with a visual of standard, dark scowling Quinn head shot.
Female VO: “Why is Pat Quinn (saying deceptive things, I think) about Bruce Rauner?”
Visual of Blago head enters the shot: “Because Pat Quinn and (insiders, maybe) have been screwing up the state (or something like that).”
(At this point, I started laughing, because I loved the unexpected “scewing up” line. That’s how people talk, and she said it with some moxy).
Then it cuts to Bruce in bright color and goes into a lot of issues and visuals and narration very quickly, I didn’t get it all in one viewing.
One of them was definitely a “responsible plan to raise the minimum wage,” followed by a couple of other things, then a closer of “Bruce Rauner is running for only one reason: to bring back Illinois” (but the visual said “shake up Springfield, take back Illinois).
First impression: Way too busy, too many things going on for :30 seconds. But I absolutely loved the “screwing up” line.
* The spot is called “Screwed Up”…
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